On January 16, 2017, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office
(CIPO) announced a change to its examination practice for
computer-generated animated designs. Under the new guidelines, CIPO
considers computer-generated animated designs having a sequence of
frames as a single design. The previous practice was to view each
image in isolation, either as "variants" or distinct
designs. Pending applications filed prior to January 16, 2017 were
able to benefit from the change as long as the applicant petitioned
for reexamination within a certain timeframe.
The change added a dose of modernity to the Canadian regime by
recognizing that a sequence of graphics can cooperate to create an
unique and dynamic visual effect, and that this is subject matter
appropriately protectable by design rights. It aligns practice with
other jurisdictions, particularly the United States, and makes
Canada more favorable than some others.
