Learn more about the remission processes and procedures at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).
About remissions at CIPO
The Service Fees Act requires CIPO to remit a portion of a fee paid, also known as a remission, when a service standard is determined not to have been met and a remission is warranted.
The Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) Remission Policy includes CIPO's Program Annex which sets out how the principles and requirements of the ISED policy are applied within CIPO.
Clients cannot apply for a remission. CIPO will determine if the service standard associated with a fee paid has not been met and a remission is warranted. If so, CIPO will inform the authorized correspondent* of the portion of the fee to be remitted based on the degree to which the service standard was not met (e.g., missed by 50% or less, or more than 50%).
Fees eligible for remission
Remissions only apply to CIPO fees that are subject to section 7 of the Service Fees Act.
Remissions do not apply to "low-materiality fees" as defined in the Low-materiality Fees Regulations. Services for which the fee is eligible for a remission are indicated with an asterisk on CIPO's client service standards page.
Conditions for a remission to be issued
CIPO will issue a remission for instances where the following conditions are met:
- The service request must be compliant with the applicable law, regulations and office practices;
- The service must have been requested on, or after, ;
- The service must be associated with a service standard for which the fee is eligible for a remission as indicated on CIPO's client service standards page;
- The service must have been provided and be completed;
- The associated service standard must be considered not to have been met, taking into account any circumstances beyond CIPO's control that may impact its ability to meet the standard (for example, unexpected office closures or extended periods of technical or IT failures) as well as any role that the party who requested the service may have played in the standard not being met; and
- The remission was not refused within 1 month from the date of the letter of remission or was refused outside the one-month period.
Notification process
Should a service not meet the service standard and it is determined that a remission is warranted, CIPO will inform the authorized correspondent that they are entitled to a remission of a portion of the fee, by way of a letter of remission.
If there is an appointed agent on record, the letter of remission will be sent to the agent acting on behalf of the applicant or rightsholder at the time of the remission. Of note, in the case of a fee paid by a third party not acting on behalf of the applicant or rightsholder, the remission letter and remission will be sent to the third party. The appointed agent on record will not receive a copy but the information will be on file.
For each remission, CIPO will send a letter with details on the remission, including the service standard that is not met, the amount to be remitted and the procedure to refuse.
Refusing remission of a fee
The authorized correspondent can refuse the remission of a fee by replying to the letter of remission received, within 1 month from the date of the letter. Please note that it is not possible to refuse in advance any potential remissions which may apply in the future. By default, in absence of a refusal within 1 month from the date of the letter of remission, CIPO will consider that the authorized correspondent accepts the remission.
How to submit a refusal
A response may be submitted through one of the following CIPO online services (as applicable):
- General Correspondence online service for Trademarks
- Trademark Opposition Board General Correspondence
- Industrial Design General Correspondence Application
- Patent General Correspondence Application
Alternatively, a response may be submitted by fax at 819-953-2476 or by regular mail addressed to the Commissioner of Patents, the Registrar of Trademarks or the Industrial Design Office (as applicable) and delivered to the following address:
Canadian Intellectual Property Office
Place du Portage I
50 Victoria Street, room C-114
Gatineau, QC K1A 0C9
What to include in the response
We recommend including the following in the reply to CIPO:
- 1) An indication of the type of intellectual property to which the remission being refused relates;
- 2) The application, patent or registration number;
- 3) The name of the applicant/rightsholder;
- 4) The date of the relevant letter of remission;
- 5) The name of the service standard that was missed;
- 6) The date on which the service was requested; and
- 7) A clear statement that the remission is being refused.
Alternatively, a copy of the original letter of remission may be submitted along with a statement such as: "The remission associated with this letter of remission is hereby refused."
The amount to be remitted
The amount to be remitted depends on the degree to which the service standard was not met.
The portion of a fee to be remitted by CIPO will be determined as follows:
| Remission amount | 25% of fee paid | 50% of fee paid |
|---|---|---|
| Degree that the service standard was not met | Service standard missed by 50% or less of standard | Service standard missed by more than 50% of standard |
Receiving the remission
Remissions that are not refused within 1 month from the date of the letter of remission will be sent before July 1 of the following fiscal year. For example, in the case of a service request paid in May 2021, where the service provided in April 2023 is considered to have missed the service standard, and where a remission is warranted, CIPO will have to remit a portion of the fee before July 2024.
Remissions will be made using a cheque or direct deposit, as applicable. Cheques will be delivered by regular mail at the address of the authorized correspondent. Authorized correspondents wishing to sign up for direct deposit to receive notification when a remission is issued and to have remissions deposited quickly and directly into their account may do so by completing the Request for payment by direct deposit (PDF: 96 KB; 1 page) form or by contacting the CIPO Client Service Centre.
Each remission will be processed individually. Accordingly, the authorized correspondent will receive one remission letter for each missed service standard where a remission is warranted and, if the remission is not refused, one cheque or one direct deposit per missed service standard where a remission is warranted. The authorized correspondent could then receive multiple cheques or direct deposit payments.
For any questions regarding remission processes and procedures at CIPO or for further assistance, please contact our Client Service Centre.
Information on file
The remission correspondence and administrative information form part of the file and is open to public inspection as per current practice for laid-open applications. Financial details are never accessible to the public.
Authorized correspondents can contact us or order IP documents to access documents that are not open to public inspection. A copy of the remission correspondence can be provided in either certified or non-certified form.