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.

For more details about the CIPO’s updated practice for industrial design examination decisions, see the CIPO’s webpage and Section 18 of the CIPO’s Industrial Design Office Practice Manual.