On July 3, Canada's federal government published proposed amendments to Canada's Patent
Rules aimed at streamlining the patent examination process in
Canada to avoid unreasonable/unnecessary prosecution delays. The
amendments are proposed in response to the patent term adjustment
obligations under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement
(CUSMA)1.
What you need to know
The proposed amendments to Canada's Patent Rules
are not yet law and open for comments for 30 days (starting from
July 3, 2021). We highlight a few key proposed changes below:
- Request for continued examination (RCE): This
would be a new requirement/mechanism in the Canadian patent regime.
Under the proposed prosecution process, examination would cease
after three Office Actions (i.e., when an applicant has not
received a notice of allowance before the issuance of a third
Office Action). To continue to prosecute the application, the
applicant must request continued examination and pay a fee
