Archived — Modernizing the IP Community—Page 3 of 15

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1.2 Report structure

The Commissioner of Patents, Registrar of Trademarks and CEO of CIPO is the decision-maker with respect to the proposed recommendations in this report. We anticipate that, taken together, our recommendations will enable CIPO to improve services to its clients and ensure that current and future patent and trademark agents are equipped with the essential tools and qualifications to best address the needs of Canadian businesses and innovators.

Our work on this initiative has raised many interesting questions, not all of which have been answered in this report. Issues that may require further investigation have been highlighted throughout.

The work of all three working groups has been assembled into this single report. In total, 32 members of the professional IP community and CIPO worked collaboratively on the content of this report (see Appendix B for a list of members). It has been presented in the following order:

  • Section 2—How to improve the lists themselves.
  • Section 3—Qualifications for agents to get on the lists.
  • Sections 4 and 5—Requirements for agents to stay on the lists.
  • Section 5—Developing a framework for ensuring that agents adhere to a code of conduct, which includes the removal of agents from the lists in appropriate circumstances.

Each section presents an analysis of a particular issue, with findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the Commissioner of Patents, Registrar of Trademarks and CEO of CIPO. Section 6 presents some closing remarks on behalf of the working group.