Co-Chairs:
- Mesmin Pierre, Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO)
- Jennifer Jannuska, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC)
1. Opening Remarks
The Co-Chairs Mesmin Pierre and Jennifer Jannuska welcomed the committee members and started the meeting.
2. Follow-up from the last meeting
The Deputy Director of Policy and Legislation provided a response to a question received at the previous meeting in January 2022, namely whether the Office would combine multiple prior art references for different component parts to object to the registration of a design for an article that is made-up of these parts. The Office confirmed that a citation combining multiple component parts from different prior art references would not be permissible in Canada.
The Deputy Director of Policy and Legislation provided an update on the Pilot Project that began in March 2021 whereby an industrial design decision to refuse registration would be reviewed by a subject matter expert within the Trademarks and Industrial Designs Branch (TIDB) rather than by the Patent Appeal Board (PAB). The Office is now determining how and when the required IT changes to make the changes permanent can be implemented. Until then the pilot project continues. The Director of Operational Services provided an update on an IT issue raised at the previous meeting. CIPO confirmed that the issuance date on the Notice of Registration and the corrected Notice of Registration will be removed by September.
The Director of Operational Services provided a status update on CIPO's ongoing IT project E-Amend enhancements and confirmed that it will include the reordering of drawings. This project is expected to be completed by April 2023.
The Director of Examination provided an update on the launch of the AI-Based Search of ID Prior Art at Examination. This feature launched and CIPO's next step is to engage with the agent community and hear their observations and comments.
Action Item: CIPO to provide statistics following the launch of the AI-Based Search of ID Prior Art at the next IDPC meeting.
CIPO will be looking for volunteers to meet with CIPO regarding the AI-Based Search of ID Prior Art to share their observations and see if adjustment are needed.
3. Update from CIPO
The Director of Operation Services provided an update on recruitment and training. CIPO has hired 8 new examiners for industrial designs examination, which have received training and have left the classroom.
The Director of Operation Services presented the statistics that will be shared with committee members after the meeting.
The Director of Operation Services provided a high level presentation on the upcoming IT projects for this fiscal year.
Regarding a question from the Committee: CIPO will follow up at the next meeting on what is included when we generate the statistics for pending applications
Regarding a question from the Committee: CIPO confirmed that Telephone Amendments is still an on ongoing practice.
Action Item: CIPO to share the statistics with committee members.
CIPO to follow up at the next meeting on what is included when we generate the statistics for pending applications.
4. Delay of Registration
Regarding a question from the Committee: A committee member requested clarifications with respect to experienced delays in receiving confirmations of delays of registration. CIPO confirmed that changes to the system are ongoing to rectify the situation.
5. DAS Code / Certified Copy Earlier Examination
Regarding a question from the Committee: A committee member requested clarifications with respect to the benefits of submitting a request with the DAS Code. CIPO confirmed that an applicant can use the DAS Code for accelerated examination to have their case examined faster and skipping the 6 month wait period.
6. Abandonment
Regarding a question from the Committee: CIPO shared statistics to show that there has not been a larger increase in abandonment when comparing 2019 and 2021.
7. Client Reference Numbers
Regarding a question from the Committee: A committee member requested a change in the online system so that the Client Reference number is displayed in the Work in Progress, Cart and Transaction History. CIPO will attempt to include this feature in its E-Enhancement project.
8. Comments Field
Regarding a question from the Committee: CIPO will look at adding the ability to have the information in the comments section entered and displayed on the submissions review and receipts with paragraphs. CIPO will attempt to include this feature in its E-Enhancement project.
9. Term of Registration
Regarding a question from the Committee: A committee member raised an issue seen on a certificate. CIPO clarified the situation and confirmed that some IT adjustments have been made for the information to be accessible in the detail page.
11. Conclusion
The Co-Chairs agreed to hold the next meeting in the fall.