Patent Act

Marginal note:Rules and regulations

• 12 (1) The Governor in Council may make rules or regulations

  • (a) respecting the form and contents of applications for patents;

  • (a.1) defining drawing for the purposes of this Act and respecting the circumstances in which certain drawings may be furnished as part of applications for patents;

  • (a.2) respecting abstracts in applications for patents, including authorizing the Commissioner to amend or replace abstracts;

  • (a.3) respecting the consequences of a failure to comply with a notice given under subsection 27(7);

  • (a.4) respecting the processing and examination of applications for patents;

  • (b) respecting the form of the Register of Patents and of the indexes thereto;

  • (c) respecting the registration of transmissions, disclaimers, judgments or other documents relating to a patent or an application for a patent;

  • (c.1) respecting the recording of transfers of patents or applications for patents;

  • (d) respecting the form and contents of any certificate issued pursuant to this Act;

  • (e) prescribing the fees or the manner of determining the fees that may be charged in respect of the filing of applications for patents or the taking of other proceedings under this Act or under any rule or regulation made pursuant to this Act, or in respect of any services or the use of any facilities provided thereunder by the Commissioner or any person employed in the Patent Office;

  • (f) prescribing the fees or the manner of determining the fees that shall be paid to maintain in effect an application for a patent or to maintain the rights accorded by a patent;

  • (g) respecting the payment of any prescribed fees including the time when and the manner in which such fees shall be paid, the additional fees that may be charged for the late payment of such fees and the circumstances in which any fees previously paid may be refunded in whole or in part;

  • (g.1) authorizing the Commissioner to waive, subject to any prescribed terms and conditions, the payment of a fee if the Commissioner is satisfied that the circumstances justify it;

  • (h) for carrying into effect the terms of any treaty, convention, arrangement or engagement that subsists between Canada and any other country;

  • (i) for carrying into effect, notwithstanding anything in this Act, the Patent Cooperation Treaty done at Washington on June 19, 1970, including any amendments, modifications and revisions made from time to time to which Canada is a party;

  • (i.1) for carrying into effect the Patent Law Treaty, done at Geneva on June 1, 2000, including any amendments and revisions made from time to time to which Canada is a party;

  • (j) respecting the entry on, the maintenance of and the removal from the register of patent agents of the names of persons and firms, including the qualifications that must be met and the conditions that must be fulfilled by a person or firm before the name of the person or firm is entered thereon and to maintain the name of the person or firm on the register;

  • (j.001) [Repealed, 2018, c. 27, s. 259]

  • (j.002) [Repealed, 2018, c. 27, s. 259]

  • (j.01) respecting the circumstances in which an applicant, patentee or other person may or must be represented by a patent agent or other person in business before the Patent Office;

  • (j.1) respecting the submission, including in electronic form and by electronic means, of documents and information to the Commissioner or the Patent Office, including the time at which they are deemed to be received by the Commissioner or the Patent Office;

  • (j.2) respecting the use of electronic means for the purposes of subsection 8.1(2);

  • (j.3) respecting the withdrawal of an application for a patent and, for the purposes of subsections 10(4) and (5), prescribing the date, or the manner of determining the date, on or before which a request for priority or an application for a patent is to be withdrawn;

  • (j.31) respecting additions to the specification and additions of drawings for the purposes of subsection 28.01(1);

  • (j.4) respecting requests for priority, including

    • (i) the period within which priority is to be requested,

    • (ii) the information and documents that are to be submitted in support of requests for priority,

    • (iii) the period within which that information and those documents are to be submitted,

    • (iv) the withdrawal of requests for priority, and

    • (v) the correction of requests for priority or of information or documents submitted in support of them and the effect of corrections on the duration of the confidentiality period referred to in subsection 10(3);

  • (j.41) respecting the application of subsection 28.4(6);

  • (j.5) respecting divisional applications, including the time period within which divisional applications may be filed and the persons who may file divisional applications;

  • (j.51) defining one invention for the purposes of section 36;

  • (j.6) respecting the deposit of biological material for the purposes of section 38.1;

  • (j.7) respecting the manner in which amendments may be made to specifications or drawings furnished as part of an application for a patent;

  • (j.71) respecting amendments to the specification or drawings for the purposes of subsection 38.2(1);

  • (j.72) respecting the replacement of all or part of the text matter of a specification or drawing contained in an application for a patent that is in a language other than English or French with a translation into English or French, for the purposes of paragraph 38.2(3)(b);

  • (j.73) respecting the conditions set out in subsection 46(5), including the circumstances in which subparagraph 46(5)(a)(ii) and paragraph 46(5)(b) do not apply;

  • (j.74) establishing a period for the purposes of subsection 55.11(2);

  • (j.75) establishing a period for the purposes of subsections 55.11(3), (7) and (9);

  • (j.76) respecting the reinstatement of applications for patents under subsection 73(3), including the circumstances in which subparagraph 73(3)(a)(ii) and paragraph 73(3)(b) do not apply;

  • (j.77) respecting communications between the Commissioner and any other person;

  • (j.8) authorizing the Commissioner to, during or after the end of the time period fixed under this Act in respect of any business before the Patent Office, for doing anything, extend that time period, subject to any prescribed terms and conditions, if the Commissioner considers that the circumstances justify the extension;

  • (j.81) respecting the correction of obvious errors in documents submitted to the Commissioner or the Patent Office or in patents or other documents granted or issued under this Act, other than under sections 106 to 134, including

    • (i) the determination of what constitutes an obvious error, and

    • (ii) the effect of the correction;

  • (k) prescribing any other matter that by any provision of this Act is to be prescribed; and

  • (l) generally, for carrying into effect the objects and purposes of this Act or for ensuring the due administration thereof by the Commissioner and other officers and employees of the Patent Office.

• Marginal note:Effect

  (2) Any rule or regulation made by the Governor in Council has the same force and effect as if it had been enacted herein.