By-laws of the College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents (SOR/2023-73)

Marginal note:Annual requirements

70 On or before March 31 of each year, every licensee must

• (a) pay to the College the applicable fee set out in items 10 to 16 of Schedule 1;

• (b) except for a class 4 licensee, file the annual licensee report with the Registrar;

• (c) if they are a class 3 licensee, provide the Registrar with the name of their supervisor; and

• (d) if they are a class 4 licensee, provide the Registrar with their contact information and a declaration that they

  • (i) continue to be resident in Canada,

  • (ii) have complied with the requirements of section 73, and

  • (iii) are not practising as a patent agent or trademark agent.

Marginal note:Annual report

71 The annual licensee report must contain all the following information in respect of the licensee:

• (a) confirmation of the mailing and civic addresses of each location of their business or practice, their email address and telephone number, and, if applicable, the name of their firm;

• (b) the areas of their practice and the approximate percentage by time or billings associated with each area;

• (c) the name of any professional regulatory body under which they are licensed;

• (d) confirmation of their professional liability insurance and the name of the insurer, or confirmation that they are exempt from the requirement to be so insured and the reason for the exemption;

• (e) the official language or languages in which they are able to practise as a patent agent or trademark agent;

• (f) their continuing professional development plan for the next year and a declaration that they have completed the previous year’s plan;

• (g) a declaration that they continue to be resident in Canada;

• (h) a declaration that they have complied with the requirements of section 73; and

• (i) any other information or documents that the Registrar determines are necessary to carry on the activities of the College.

Marginal note:Extension of deadlines

72 The Registrar may, having regard to the specific circumstances of the licensee, extend the deadline for payment of the licence renewal fees by a licensee and for filing the annual licensee report.

Marginal note:Licensees to advise Registrar

73 A licensee must advise the Registrar in writing as soon as feasible after the occurrence of any of the following:

• (a) they are served with an application for bankruptcy, make an assignment of property for the benefit of creditors or present a proposal in bankruptcy to creditors under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act;

• (b) they have a judgment entered against them by a court;

• (c) they are personally subject to an order for costs;

• (d) they are charged with, plead guilty to or are found guilty of any offence under the Criminal Code, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Income Tax Act, the Excise Tax Act, a provincial act respecting securities, employment standards or official languages or any other provincial act that creates an offence that implicates an individual’s integrity; or

• (e) they have their professional licence restricted or suspended by a professional regulatory body, or are found by a professional regulatory body to have committed professional misconduct or to be incompetent within the meaning of the statute under which the body made its finding.

Licence Suspension

Marginal note:Notice of suspension

74 The Registrar must give the notice under subsection 35(2) of the Act to the licensee at least seven days before the licence suspension is to take effect and must include in the notice the reasons for the suspension.

Marginal note:Lifting of suspension

• 75 (1) The Registrar must reinstate a licence suspended under section 35 of the Act if the licensee, within three years after the date of the suspension, corrects the failure that resulted in the suspension and pays to the College the reinstatement fee set out in item 17 of Schedule 1, together with any outstanding fees owed by the licensee.

• Marginal note:Lifting of suspension after three years

  (2) The Registrar must reinstate a licence that has been suspended under section 35 of the Act for more than three years if the Registrar determines that the licensee is of good character, is fit to practise and has

  • (a) corrected the failure that resulted in the suspension;

  • (b) completed any continuing professional development requirements that the Registrar may specify;

  • (c) completed any further training and examinations that the Registrar may specify to address the failure that resulted in the suspension; and

  • (d) paid to the College the fee set out in item 17 of Schedule 1, together with any outstanding fees owed by the licensee.

Revocation

Marginal note:Revocation after five-year suspension — notice

76 For the purpose of subsection 35(4) of the Act, the Registrar may revoke a licence that has been suspended for at least five years by giving notice to the licensee at their last known email address at least 30 days before the day on which the revocation is to take effect.

Surrender of Licence

Marginal note:Application to surrender — requirements

• 77 (1) A licensee who wishes to surrender their licence under section 36 of the Act must submit an application to the Registrar that contains the following information:

  • (a) their current and, if available, future contact information;

  • (b) the reason for the surrender of the licence;

  • (c) their complete professional employment history;

  • (d) confirmation of the following:

    • (i) that they have completed all client matters or made arrangements to the satisfaction of their clients to have the clients’ files returned to them or transferred to one or more licensees whose class of licence permits them to proceed with the file or files being transferred,

    • (ii) that they have assigned to one or more licensees described in subparagraph (i) any matters in progress at CIPO and have advised the appropriate Office of CIPO in writing of the name of the successor licensee or licensees, and

    • (iii) the location of any of their files that are not returned to the clients or transferred as described in subparagraph (i); and

  • (e) the applicable fees set out in items 18 and 19 of Schedule 1, together with any outstanding fees owed by the licensee, payable to the College.

• Marginal note:Verification of information

  (2) The Registrar may seek independent verification from a successor licensee of the information provided by a licensee under subparagraph (1)(d)(ii).

Marginal note:Surrender — approval and effective date

78 The Registrar may approve the surrender of a licence and set the effective date of the surrender if the Registrar is satisfied that the application to surrender the licence is complete and that the licensee is not the subject of

• (a) an investigation under section 37 of the Act; or

• (b) an application by the Investigations Committee under subsection 49(1) of the Act.

Marginal note:Deemed surrender

79 A licence is deemed to have been surrendered on the appointment of the licensee to the judiciary or on the death of the licensee.

PART 5

Registers and Certificates

Marginal note:Removal of personal information by Registrar

80 The Registrar must not make public in the Registers any of a licensee’s personal information, as defined in section 3 of the Privacy Act, that was added in accordance with section 28 or 31 of the Act.

Marginal note:Registrar’s certificate

81 On the request of a licensee and on payment to the College of the fee set out in item 20 of Schedule 1, the Registrar must produce a certificate that sets out the information in respect of the licensee that is contained in the Register.

Marginal note:Foreign practitioners — requirements

• 82 (1) A foreign practitioner who makes a request under paragraph 19(1)(b) or 20(1)(b) of the Regulations must pay to the College the fee set out in item 21 of Schedule 1.

• Marginal note:Foreign practitioners — continued inclusion in Register

  (2) In order to continue to be included in the Register, a foreign practitioner must provide the statement required by subsection 19(2) or 20(2) of the Regulations each year during the period beginning on May 1 and ending on June 30.

• Marginal note:Additional requirements

  (3) The statement must be accompanied by

  • (a) proof, furnished by the relevant competent authority in the foreign practitioner’s country of residence, that they are authorized to act as a patent agent or as a trademark agent in that country; and

  • (b) the fee set out in item 22 of Schedule 1, payable to the College.

• Marginal note:Extension of deadlines

  (4) The Registrar may, having regard to the specific circumstances of a foreign practitioner, extend the deadline for payment of the fee referred to in paragraph (3)(b).

Marginal note:Change of status

83 A foreign practitioner must notify the Registrar in writing without delay of the occurrence of any of the following:

• (a) they become a resident of Canada;

• (b) their country of residence changes, in which case they must provide the name of their new country of residence;

• (c) the country where they are authorized as a patent agent or trademark agent changes, in which case they must provide proof of the new authorization, furnished by the relevant competent authority; or

• (d) they cease to be authorized to act as a patent agent or trademark agent in any country.

Marginal note:Removal from Registers

84 The Registrar must remove from the Registers the name and contact information of any individual who no longer meets the requirements set out in paragraph 19(1)(a) or 20(1)(a) or subsection 19(2) or 20(2) of the Regulations.

PART 6

Investigations

Marginal note:Investigation

85 The Registrar must not dismiss a complaint when there are reasonable grounds to believe that the licensee who is the subject of the complaint has committed professional misconduct or was incompetent.

Marginal note:Request for appeal

86 A complainant’s request under subsection 38.1(4) of the Act for an appeal of the Registrar’s decision must be made in writing.

Marginal note:Licensee’s application for review of provisional action

• 87 (1) An application to the Discipline Committee under subsection 37.2(1) of the Act must be submitted to the Registrar and include a copy of the decision of the Investigations Committee made under subsection 37.1(1) of the Act and a description of the reasons for the appeal.

• Marginal note:Registrar to forward application

  (2) The Registrar must forward the application for review to the Discipline Committee together with a copy of the decision to be reviewed.

• Marginal note:Supplementary information

  (3) The Discipline Committee may request

  • (a) that the licensee provide it with any additional information the Committee considers necessary to make its decision under subsection 37.2(2) of the Act; and

  • (b) that the Investigations Committee provide it with any of the information and documents that the Investigations Committee considered in making its decision under subsection 37.1(1) of the Act.

Marginal note:Notice of investigation

88 The notice under section 38 of the Act must

• (a) be made in writing;

• (b) request that the licensee provide any further representations in writing within 30 days after the day of the notice; and

• (c) inform the licensee that there is to be no oral hearing in connection with the complaint.

PART 7

Fees

Marginal note:Annual adjustment

89 Every fee set out in Schedule 1 is to be adjusted in each fiscal year on January 1 by the percentage change in the October All-items Consumer Price Index for Canada — as published by Statistics Canada under the Statistics Act — between the month of October in the preceding year and the month of October in the year before that year, and rounded to the next highest dollar.

PART 8

Amendment to These By-laws, Repeals and Coming into Force

90 [Amendments]

91 [Amendments]

Coming into Force

Marginal note:May 1, 2023

• 92 (1) These By-laws, other than section 90, come into force on May 1, 2023.

• Marginal note:January 1, 2024

  (2) Section 90 comes into force on January 1, 2024.