Canadian Patent Office Abandons "Spirit And Scope" Objections

Seldom does a Patent Office policy manual get trimmed, but this is what the Canadian Patent Office laudably did earlier this year to a section of the Manual of Patent Office Practice related to so-called "spirit and scope" statements. Directed by this section, Canadian examiners had routinely objected to language like the "spirit of the invention" in the description of patent applications, which allegedly broadened the scope of the patent claims.

However, any fear about the "spirit" of the invention was apparently considered to be unfounded, and this may explain the unceremonious withdrawal of the above-mentioned section. The Supreme Court of Canada explained in Free World Trust v Électro Santé 2000 SCC 66 that, while the Patent Act promotes adherence to the claim language, this language has to be interpreted in an informed and purposive way. There is no recourse to such vague notions as the "spirit of the invention" to expand it further.