Marginal note:Power of joint applicants to appoint common representative
26 (1) If, in respect of an application for a patent, there are joint applicants, one applicant may be appointed by the other applicants as their common representative.
Marginal note:Power of joint patentees to appoint common representative
(2) If, in respect of a patent, there are joint patentees, one patentee may be appointed by the other patentees as their common representative.
Marginal note:Manner of appointment
(3) The appointment of a common representative must be made by one of the following methods:
(a) in respect of a patent or an application for a patent, in a notice to that effect that is signed by the other applicants or patentees and submitted to the Commissioner;
(b) in respect of an application for a patent — other than a divisional application or an international application — that includes a petition on the filing date, in that petition; and
(c) in respect of a PCT national phase application, in a notice to that effect that is submitted to the Commissioner on or before the national phase entry date of that application.
Marginal note:Common representative by default — application for patent
(4) Subject to subsections (6), (9) and (11), in respect of an application for a patent — other than a divisional application — in relation to which there are joint applicants and no common representative is appointed under subsection (3), the following person is deemed to be appointed as the common representative:
(a) in respect of an application for a patent, other than a PCT national phase application,
(i) in the case where the application included a petition on the filing date, the first person named as an applicant in that petition,
(ii) in the case where, on the filing date, the application did not include a petition but did include a single other document naming the joint applicants, the joint applicant whose name appears first in that document, and
(iii) in any other case, the joint applicant whose name appears first when listed in alphabetical order on the filing date; and
(b) in respect of a PCT national phase application,
(i) if joint applicants are named in the corresponding request under Article 4 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, if more than one applicant complied with the requirements of subsection 154(1) and, if applicable, subsection 154(2), and if the first person named as an applicant in that request is one of those applicants, the first person named as an applicant in that request, and
(ii) in any other case, the joint applicant who complied with the requirements of subsection 154(1) and, if applicable, subsection 154(2), and whose name appears first when listed in alphabetical order.
Marginal note:Common representative by default — divisional application
(5) Subject to subsections (6), (9) and (11), in respect of a divisional application, in relation to which there are joint applicants and no common representative is appointed under paragraph (3)(a), the following person is deemed to be appointed as the common representative:
(a) if, at the end of the day on the presentation date of the divisional application, the person who was the common representative in respect of the original application was an applicant of the divisional application, that person; and
(b) in any other case, the first person named as an applicant in the petition contained in the divisional application on its presentation date.
Marginal note:Common representative by default — correction or decision
(6) Subject to subsections (9) and (11), in respect of an application for a patent in relation to which there are joint applicants and no common representative is appointed under subsection (3), if a correction has been made to the name of a joint applicant under section 104 or subsection 154(6) and the correction has changed the identity of that joint applicant, or if a decision is made by the Commissioner under subsection 31(2), (3) or (4) of the Act, other than a decision refusing an application under one of those subsections, the joint applicant whose name appears first when listed in alphabetical order after that correction or decision — or if there is more than one correction or decision, or both a correction and a decision, after the most recent of those corrections or decisions — is deemed to be appointed as the common representative.
Marginal note:Common representative by default — patent
(7) Subject to subsections (9) and (11), in respect of a patent — other than a reissued patent — in relation to which there are joint patentees and no common representative is appointed under paragraph (3)(a), the person who, immediately before the patent was granted, was the common representative in respect of the application on the basis of which the patent was granted, is deemed to be appointed as the common representative in respect of the patent.
Marginal note:Common representative by default — reissued patent
(8) Subject to subsections (9) and (11), in respect of a reissued patent, in relation to which there are joint patentees and no common representative is appointed under paragraph (3)(a), the person who was the common representative in respect of the original patent immediately before the patent was reissued is deemed to be appointed as the common representative in respect of the reissued patent.
Marginal note:Common representative by default — transfer of rights of single applicant or patentee
(9) Subject to subsection (11), in the case where, under section 49 of the Act, the Commissioner, on or after the applicable date referred to in subsection (10), recorded the transfer of all or part of the rights of an applicant in an application for a patent or all or part of the rights of a patentee in a patent, as set out in the records of the Patent Office immediately before the transfer is recorded, that applicant was the only applicant of the application immediately before the transfer was recorded, or that patentee was the only patentee of the patent immediately before the transfer was recorded, no other person has been a single applicant of that application or a single patentee of that patent since that transfer was recorded and no common representative has been appointed under subsection (3) in respect of that application or that patent, the following person is deemed to be appointed as the common representative in respect of that patent or application:
(a) if, immediately after the transfer is recorded, the person who transferred those rights is still an applicant of the application or a patentee of the patent, that person; and
(b) if, immediately after the transfer is recorded, the person who transferred those rights is no longer an applicant of the application or a patentee of the patent, the transferee whose name appears first in the request to record the transfer.
Marginal note:Applicable date
(10) For the purposes of subsection (9), the applicable date is
(a) in respect of an application for a patent, other than a PCT national phase application or a divisional application, the filing date of the application;
(b) in respect of a PCT national phase application, the national phase entry date;
(c) in respect of a divisional application, the presentation date of the application;
(d) despite paragraphs (a) to (c), in respect of an application in relation to which one or more corrections or decisions referred to in subsection (6) have been made, the date of that correction or decision or, if there is more than one correction or decision, or both a correction and a decision, the date of the most recent of those corrections or decisions;
(e) in respect of a patent, other than a reissued patent, the date on which the patent was granted; and
(f) in respect of a reissued patent, the date on which the patent was reissued.
Marginal note:Common representative by default — transfer of rights of common representative
(11) If, under section 49 of the Act, the Commissioner records the transfer of all of the rights of a common representative in a patent or an application for a patent, as set out in the records of the Patent Office immediately before the transfer is recorded, and, immediately after the transfer is recorded, there is still more than one applicant for the patent or more than one patentee for the patent but no other common representative is appointed under paragraph (3)(a), the following person is deemed to be appointed as the common representative in respect of that patent or application:
(a) if the rights of the common representative are transferred to a single person, that person; and
(b) if the rights of the common representative are transferred to more than one person, the transferee whose name appears first in the request to record the transfer.
Marginal note:Revocation of appointment
(12) An appointment of a common representative, including a deemed appointment, is revoked by the subsequent appointment of another common representative under paragraph (3)(a) or subsection (11).
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