The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) recently announced that following public consultation and a pilot project, it has formalized its updated practice regarding industrial design examination decisions. Specifically, the CIPO's updated practice involves referring decisions to refuse registration for review by a subject-matter expert from the Trademarks and Industrial Designs Branch (TIDB) rather than by the Patent Appeal Board (as was the case under previous practice). Additionally, the change is accompanied by a change in correspondence wherein a Notice of Possible Refusal is replaced by a Final Examination Report.
The CIPO notes that as of 7 August 2024, all reviews of industrial design examiner decisions will be conducted by a subject-matter expert from the TIDB, as was the case during the CIPO's pilot project.
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