Canadian Intellectual Property Office CIPO - PDF document

1 Canadian Intellectual Property Office (C
Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) CIPO Patent Quality Craig MacMillan, Program Manager - International, Patent Policy and International Affairs Division 2 AGENDA FOR TODAY’S CONVERSATION • By the numbers • Patent Branch Organizational Structure • Quality Management System • Quality

2 Products – QC • Quality Processes
Products – QC • Quality Processes • ISO & auditing • Examiner training • Timeliness • Service Excellence • Collaboration and work sharing • Outreach • Granting Process • Questions Canadian Intellectual Property Office Patent Branch 3 PATENT BRANCH QMS PATENT BRANCH BY THE NUMBERS 2

3 017 - 2018 4 . 5 To ensure patent qualit
017 - 2018 4 . 5 To ensure patent quality, we measure the quality of our products, processes and services: Products Processes Services  Exam. reports  Office letters  Search records  QA/QC reports  Timeliness  Inventories  Internal and External Audit  Surveys  Feedback PATENT

4 BRANCH QMS MEASURING PATENT QUALITY 6 E
BRANCH QMS MEASURING PATENT QUALITY 6 Examination Work Products • National and International products Quality Control  Supervisors QC certain percentage of work products according to a predetermined list of questions  Reporting and continuous improvement, such as: • Additional training, imp

5 rovements to examiner tools, update of
rovements to examiner tools, update of QC questions, investigation into any inconsistencies • QA of International Work Products ENSURING QUALITY PRODUCTS PATENT BRANCH QMS 7  ISO 9001:2015 certified in March 2017  Successfully passed ISO Surveillance Audits in April 2018 and March 2019  R

6 ecertification scheduled for March 2020
ecertification scheduled for March 2020  Yearly internal audit of PB’s processes  Any non - conformity found is addressed by the quality team. ENSURING QUALITY PROCESSES PATENT BRANCH QMS 8 Training • Initial and Ongoing training programs for both Examination and Operations staff • In

7 - person, WebEx and e - learning • Sea
- person, WebEx and e - learning • Search Collaboration Workshops • Technical seminars by academia and industry • On site industry training visits Communication • Mandatory Examiner Bulletins and Operations Bulletins • Regular meetings at every level TRAINING AND TOOLS PATENT EXAMINATI

8 ON 9 TIMELINESS • Published Service S
ON 9 TIMELINESS • Published Service Standards • Published Reporting • Accelerated Examination • Regular • Green Technology • Patent Prosecution Highway • Deferred Examination • 3 rd Party Request for Examination TIMELY IP RIGHTS Performance Targets 10 Worksharing Ensuring granted patents

9 meet Canadian law and quality standard
meet Canadian law and quality standards while leveraging work done by other offices. PCT route : 3 out of every 4 Canadian applications. PPH: 9% of applicants request accelerated examination through the PPH program. File - Wrappers: Published Canadian search reports and examination reports. Offices, app

10 licants and the public benefit: Time Sav
licants and the public benefit: Time Savings Comprehensive searches Cost Savings Marketplace certainty Quality patents Efficient use of resources SERVICE EXCELLENCE COLLABORATION AND WORKSHARING PATENT BRANCH QMS 11 Worksharing PPH provides free accelerated examination when claims substantially corr

11 espond to claims indicated as allowable
espond to claims indicated as allowable in another PPH - partner patent Office. SERVICE EXCELLENCE COLLABORATION AND WORKSHARING PATENT BRANCH QMS 12 Worksharing Better focusing of Canadian examination resources by reducing duplication of work. Not a rubber stamp process. Canadian examiners:  Revie

12 w search results and opinions from PCT
w search results and opinions from PCT IAs/IPEAs and foreign office file - wrappers.  Perform searches in the Canadian Patents Database and targeted searching worldwide to complement searching already done by IAs and by offices of earlier examination.  Review applications against foreign work and

13 perform comprehensive searches if need
perform comprehensive searches if needed.  Assess Canadian application according to Canadian law and quality standards in search and examination. SERVICE EXCELLENCE COLLABORATION AND WORKSHARING PATENT BRANCH QMS 13 Collaborations Identifying best practices • Engaging other IPOs • Vancouver G

14 roup (AU, UK, CA) • Canadian Patent La
roup (AU, UK, CA) • Canadian Patent Law and Examination Workshop • MIA/QSG • Canadian Government Quality practitioner network SERVICE EXCELLENCE COLLABORATION AND WORKSHARING PATENT BRANCH QMS 14  2017 - 2018 Client satisfaction survey to measure client satisfaction and use as a baseline to a

15 ssess progress  Online Feedback Mecha
ssess progress  Online Feedback Mechanism is a direct way for clients to communicate with us  Patent Examination Interview Service developed in response to client feedback  Patent Quality Summit and Patent Quality Conversation webinars help us engage with stakeholders  2018 launch of CI

16 PO Quality website Coming in 2020: Publi
PO Quality website Coming in 2020: Published quality metrics CLIENT SERVICE EXCELLENCE CLIENT SERVICE EXCELLENCE OUTREACH 15 QUALITY OF GRANTING PROCESS GRANTING  Technically competent patent examiners and administrative staff.  Correct and consistent application of law.  Access to robust sear

17 ching tools and databases.  Reduced
ching tools and databases.  Reduced duplication of work  PCT, PPH, File - wrappers, documented search strategies  Compact prosecution model with limited deferral of substantive search and examination 16 QUALITY OF GRANTING PROCESS GRANTING  LEAN methodology - eliminating wasteful practices

18 and improving efficiency  Protestin
and improving efficiency  Protesting grant of a patent and filing of prior art  Post - grant corrections.  Post - grant challenges (re - examination, disclaimer, reissue) 17 QUESTIONS Ottawa Convention Centre, Ottawa , Ontario (Source: Brand Canada) Thank you! Questions? Canadian Intellectual