The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO; French: ''Office de la propriété intellectuelle du Canada, OPIC'') is responsible for the administration and processing of the greater part of intellectual property (IP) in Canada. CIPO's areas of activity include patents,

trademarks A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

industrial designs Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactu ...

and integrated circuit topographies. Structurally, CIPO functions as a

special operating agency A special operating agency is a designation given to a government organization within a department or agency of the Government of Canada that has some management flexibility, independence, and separate accountability. They function, without legisla ...

(SOA) under

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED; french: Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada; french: ISDE, label=none)''Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal I ...

. CIPO is based in Gatineau,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, part of the

National Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

. CIPO’s current interim Chief Executive Officer is Konstantinos Georgaras. CIPO plays an integral role in the Canadian innovation ecosystem and cooperates with its counterpart organizations around the world through international IP treaties. Continued collaboration with international partners and domestic stakeholders strengths the Canadian IP regime and provides CIPO’s clients with opportunities to extract greater value from their creations and inventions. In 2019, Canada ratified and fully implemented the Hague Agreement for industrial designs; the

Madrid Protocol #redirect Madrid system World Intellectual Property Organization treaties Treaties concluded in 1989 Treaties entered into force in 1995 1989 in Spain Treaties entered into by the African Intellectual Property Organization Treaties of Albani ...

, the

Singapore Treaty Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borderi ...

and the Nice Agreement for trademarks; and the

Patent Law Treaty The Patent Law Treaty (PLT) is a patent law multilateral treaty concluded on 1 June 2000 in Geneva, Switzerland, by 53 States and the European Patent Organisation (an intergovernmental organization). It aims at harmonizing formal procedures su ...

for patents. Prior to 2019, Canada had joined the

TRIPS Agreement The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an international legal agreement between all the member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It establishes minimum standards for the regulation by nat ...

and the Paris Convention for intellectual property; the

WIPO Convention The WIPO Convention (formally, the Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization) is the multilateral treaty that established the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The convention was signed at Stockholm, ...

for trademarks and copyright; the

Berne Convention The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, was an international assembly held in 1886 in the Swiss city of Bern by ten European countries with the goal to agree on a set of leg ...

, the Rome Convention and the

Marrakesh VIP Treaty The Marrakesh VIP Treaty (formally the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled, colloquially Marrakesh Treaty or MVT) is a treaty on copyright adopted in M ...

for copyright; and the Budapest Treaty, the

Patent Cooperation Treaty The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty, concluded in 1970. It provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its contracting states. A patent application filed und ...

, the Strasbourg Agreement and the UPOV Convention for patents. In 2020, CIPO received approximately 160,000 applications to register more than 37,000 patents, 76,000 trademarks, 12,500 copyrights and 8,000 industrial designs.

Mandate

CIPO is responsible for processing applications to register patents, trademarks, copyrights and industrial designs. CIPO's mandate is to provide this service and, more generally, to provide education on intellectual property to Canadians. By modernizing the national IP system and collaborating with its international counterparts, CIPO helps innovators and entrepreneurs grow their business in global markets and attract foreign investments to Canada.

Trademarks

A trademark can protect a combination of words, sounds or designs used to distinguish your goods or services from those of others in the marketplace. CIPO administers the ''Trademarks Act'', ''Trademarks Regulations'', the ''Olympic and Paralympic Marks Act'' and the ''Olympic and Paralympic Marks Regulations''. In particular, the Trademarks and Industrial Design Branch is responsible for processing filings, conducting examinations and approving or refusing applications. If a trademark application is refused, there is a right of appeal to the

Federal Court of Canada The Federal Court of Canada, which succeeded the Exchequer Court of Canada in 1971, was a national court of Canada that had limited jurisdiction to hear certain types of disputes arising under the federal government's legislative jurisdiction. O ...

. If a trademark application is approved, the Trademarks and Industrial Design Branch is also responsible for advertising it in the
Trademarks Journal
' and, ultimately, processing the registration and renewal of the trademark. However, if an opposition is filed during the advertisement stage, the application is referred to th

(another body within CIPO) for

adjudication Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants, to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the p ...

Patents

A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, such as a product or a process. CIPO administers the ''Patent Act'' and ''Patent Rules''. More specifically, the Patent Branch is responsible for processing filings, conducting examinations and approving or refusing applications. If a patent application is refused, there is a right of appeal to the Commissioner of Patents. This review is conducted by an administrative body within CIPO, th
Patent Appeal Board

Copyright

Copyright provides protection for literary, artistic, dramatic and musical creations. CIPO administers the ''Copyright Act'' and ''Copyright Regulations''. CIPO is responsible for processing copyright applications, assignments and licences.

Industrial designs

Industrial design registration provides protection for the original visual features of a product. CIPO administers the ''Industrial Design Act'' and the ''Industrial Design Regulations''. CIPO is responsible for processing filings, conducting examinations and approving or refusing applications. If an industrial design application is considered for refusal, the decision can be reviewed by th

If the application is ultimately refused, the decision can be appealed to the

Integrated circuit topographies

Integrated circuit topographies refers to the three-dimensional configurations of electronic circuits embodied in integrated circuit products or layout designs. CIPO administers the ''Integrated Circuit Topography Act'' and the ''Integrated Circuit Topography Regulations''. CIPO is responsible for processing integrated circuit topography applications, assignments and licences.

References

External links

CIPO official website

Trademarks

''Olympic and Paralympic Marks Act''

Canadian Trademarks Database

Patents

''Patent Act''

Copyright

Canadian Copyrights Database

Industrial designs

Canadian Industrial Designs Database

Integrated circuit topographies

{{authority control Canadian Intellectual Property Office Canadian patent law Canadian trademark law Canadian copyright law Canadian intellectual property law Government agencies established in 1991 Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Patent offices Copyright agencies International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities 1991 establishments in Canada Intellectual_Property_Office, Canadian