Learn about the implications of office closures at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).
On this page:
- CIPO is closed to the public
- CIPO is open to the public, but time periods are extended (designated days)
- Time period extensions for prescribed days
- Time period extensions under the Madrid Protocol and the Hague Agreement
- Time period extensions under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
CIPO is closed to the public
For patents, trademarks and industrial designs, whenever CIPO is closed to the public for all or part of a day during ordinary business hours, including closures due to extraordinary circumstances, most time periods will be extended to the next day that is not a prescribed or designated day and where CIPO is open to the public. For Copyright and Integrated Circuit Topography, if CIPO is closed to the public due to extraordinary circumstances, CIPO considers all time periods to be extended until the next day that it is open to the public.
In such situations, mail delivered to CIPO or to designated establishments is deemed to be received on the first day that CIPO re‑opens to the public.
There may be instances in which the designated establishments are temporarily closed, yet CIPO remains open to the public. In such situations, it remains the responsibility of CIPO's clients to ensure that all deadlines are respected.
Unexpected office closure dates
From 2017 onward, a record of dates where CIPO was unexpectedly closed to the public will be kept online. For information regarding a previous business closures, please contact the Client Service Centre.
| Closure date | Reason |
|---|---|
| May 8 to 9, 2017 | Flooding in the National Capital Region |
| September 19, 2022 | One-time holiday for the federal public service to coincide with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's State Funeral. |
CIPO is open to the public, but time periods are extended (designated days)
In case of unforeseen circumstances, it is possible that CIPO will remain open to the public but most national time periods will be extended.
The Commissioner of Patents, the Registrar of Trademarks, or the Minister may, on account of unforeseen circumstances and if they are satisfied that it is in the public interest to do so, designate any day for the purpose of extending time periods. This allows the office to extend deadlines when such circumstances arise making it impossible for clients to meet them. Any designation of a day or days will be published on CIPO's website.
If a national time period for doing anything ends on a designated day, that time period will be extended to the next day that is not a prescribed or designated day and where CIPO is open to the public.
In such situations, mail delivered to CIPO, or to designated establishments that are open, will be deemed received on the day on which it is delivered, however time periods fixed under the Patent Act, Trademarks Act and Industrial Design Act will be extended.
A record of these dates is kept below.
| Designated days | Reason |
|---|---|
| March 16 to August 28, 2020 | COVID-19 outbreak |
Time period extensions for prescribed days
Time periods fixed under the Patent Act, the Trademarks Act and the Industrial Design Act and ending on a prescribed day are also extended.
If a time period for doing anything ends on one of the following days, that time period will be extended to the next day that is not a prescribed day or a designated day and where CIPO is open to the public.
- Saturday;
- Sunday;
- January 1, or if January 1 falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday;
- Good Friday;
- Easter Monday;
- the Monday before May 25;
- June 24, or if June 24 falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday;
- July 1, or if July 1 falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday;
- the first Monday in August;Footnote 1
- the first Monday in September;
- j.1 September 30 or, if September 30 falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday;
- the second Monday in October;
- November 11, or if November 11 falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday;
- December 25 and 26, or
- If December 25 falls on a Friday, that Friday and the following Monday, or
- If December 25 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday and Tuesday;
- Any day on which CIPO is closed to the public for all or part of the day during ordinary business hours.
Time period extensions under the Madrid Protocol and the Hague Agreement
If a period within which a communication must be received by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Office would expire on a day on which the International Bureau is not open to the public, it will expire on the next subsequent day on which the International Bureau is open. Likewise, if the period within which a communication (such as a Notification of Refusal) must be sent by CIPO to the International Bureau would expire on a day on which CIPO is not open to the public for all or part of a day during ordinary business hours, it will expire on the next subsequent day on which CIPO is open.
A list of the days on which the International Bureau is closed to the public during the current and the following calendar year is available on the WIPO website.
Effect of prescribed days and designated days
Time period extensions due to prescribed days or resulting from the designation of days also applies to the time period inviting the holder of an international registration to respond to the objections set out in a Notification of Refusal or a Notification of Provisional Refusal. If that time period ends on a prescribed or designated day, that time period will be extended to the next day that is not a prescribed or designated day and where CIPO is open to the public.
Note that prescribed days and designated days do not apply to the time periods within which CIPO must communicate a Notification of Refusal, a Notification of Provisional Refusal or a Statement of Grant of Protection to the International Bureau. Those periods are extended only if CIPO or the International Bureau are closed to the public for all or part of a day during ordinary business hours.
Failure by an interested party to meet time limits for a communication to the International Bureau may be excused in the circumstances provided for by Rule 5 of the Common Regulations Under the 1999 Act and the 1960 Act of the Hague Agreement or Rule 5 of the Regulations under the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks.
Time period extensions under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
If a time period for a PCT international application falls on a weekend or on a holiday, the deadline will be automatically extended to the next day on which the Office is open to the public. However, designated days do not apply to PCT international applications.