The Government of Canada has published its proposed amendments to the Patent Rules in the Canada Gazette Part I. The proposed amendments, expected to come into force by fall 2019, will significantly change the current Patent Rules in an effort to modernize Canada’s patent regime. Some key changes include:

• restoration of the priority right will be available in appropriate circumstances;
• filing requirements in order to receive an official filing date will be simplified;
• filing dates can be received via electronic submission at any time, including weekends and holidays;
• 42-month late national phase entry as of right will no longer be available, although it will still be possible to enter the national phase in Canada within this time period if the failure to enter the national phase by the 30-month deadline was unintentional;
• third party intervening rights will be introduced as an exemption from infringement in certain circumstances where a patent application was abandoned; and
• the time limit for the applicant to request examination will be reduced from five years to four years after the filing of an application.

The public consultation is open until 30 December 2018.