What's next
CIPO looks forward to receiving feedback about its fee-for-service proposal. In accordance with the UFA, if any complaints about the proposal are received during the consultation period (which ends on July 5, 2016), CIPO would have until August 15, 2016 to set an independent advisory panel should one be requested by a complainant. Although the results of this consultation exercise are not binding, they may result in changes to the user fee proposal. A document with information on input received will be included with the proposal when it is submitted to Parliament for committee review.
CIPO will continue to provide the latest information on the progress of its UFA process, as well as supporting documentation, guidelines on how to submit comments, and updates.
This fee proposal will be implemented as part of a larger regulatory amendment process and as such, will only come into force when the changes to the Patent Rules are approved. Until that time, the current fee structure will remain in place.