The practices set out in the MOPOP are CIPO's interpretation of the Patent Act, Patent Rules and jurisprudence as of the date each chapter came into effect.
This manual is a guide only and should not be considered legally binding. If you find any difference between this guide and the applicable legislation, you must follow the legislation.
We update the manual from time to time to reflect changes to Canada's patent statutes, regulations and jurisprudence.
Note that the current version of MOPOP has been substantially reformatted, and amended to reflect legislative changes associated with implementation of the Patent Law Treaty (PLT). Please consult the table of contents to locate specific topics.
Please note that the current version of the MOPOP does not cover all practices relating to the prosecution of applications filed before .
You can find information about future updates to this manual, including periods of public consultation, on the MOPOP updates page.
Archive (in modernized format)
- July 2022 update (in force to )
- February 2022 update (in force February 18, 2022 to June 30, 2022)
- November 2021 update (in force November 12, 2021 to February 17, 2022)
- August 2021 update (in force August 6, 2021 to November 11, 2021)
- June 2021 update (in force to )
- December 2020 update (in force to )
- September 2020 update (in force to )
- October 2019 update (in force to )
- Legacy Manual (in force to )