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Newsflash |
Changes
to Expedited Examination in Canada
March 18,
2011
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Changes
to Expedited Examination in Canada
Changes relating to Expedited Examination in Canada came into
force on March 3, 2011. These changes include:
1. Under current provisions to
request examination, the Commissioner may advance an
application for examination upon payment of a fee if the
Commissioner determines that failure to advance the
application is likely to prejudice the requester’s rights. A
new provision has been added which allows the Commissioner to
expedite the prosecution of an application when the invention
is related to green technology. Under this new provision no
additional fee is required. Rather, a declaration stating that
the application relates to technology the commercialization of
which would help to resolve or mitigate environmental impacts
or conserve the natural environment and resources along with
the request for expedited examination must be submitted.
As there is limited guidance with
respect to what constitutes green technology,
should you be uncertain whether your technology is a
green technology we recommend filing the request for expedited
examination under the other existing
provision available in order to avoid
making a false declaration and triggering the possible
consequences that may flow from this.
2. A restriction on the
eligibility for expedited examination has also been
introduced. In particular, new Section 28(2) states:
With respect to a request made
under subsection (1) by an applicant, the Commissioner shall
not advance the examination of the application out of its
routine order and shall return to its routine order any
examination that has been advanced if, after April 30, 2011,
(a) the Commissioner extends,
under subsection 26(1), the time fixed by these Rules or by
the Commissioner under the Act for doing anything in respect
of the application; or
(b) the application is deemed to
be abandoned under subsection 73(1) of the Act whether or not
it is reinstated under subsection 73(3) of the Act.
Given this new restriction,
should expediting allowance of an application be a priority to
you, requests for extension of time or
the abandonment of the application should be avoided.
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