Software inventions get huge boost from Federal Court of Canada
August 26, 2020
The Federal Court of Canada just delivered a stinging rebuke to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) for its handling of patentable subject matter rejections in Choueifaty v. Attorney General of Canada,…
Read MorePatent Appeal Board Pilot Program for High-Tech Inventions
January 15, 2020
The Canadian Patent Office has recently announced a new pilot project related to the Patent Appeal Board (“PAB”). The pilot project begins January 20, 2020 and will be in effect for a period of 12 months. The new pilot project deals with high-tech (electrical/computer/software) applications…
Read MoreBenefits of a Canadian Patent Filing for High-Tech Innovators
January 16, 2018
Treatment of computer-implemented inventions by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has remained consistent for many years. CIPO’s predictable treatment of computer-implemented inventions has likely contributed to the uptick in computer-implemented invention patent filings since 2011. …
Read MoreFurther Discussion of Subject Matter Eligibility by Patent Appeal Board
September 07, 2017
On the heels of its decisions relating to patentability of graphical user interfaces (previously discussed here) from late last year, the Canadian Patent Appeal Board (PAB) has provided further insight on the issue…
Read MoreWhat about Schlumberger?
July 25, 2017
For decades, Schlumberger Canada Ltd v Canada (Commissioner of Patents), [1981] 56 CPR (2d) 204 (FCA), was the only Canadian decision on computer-implemented inventions. In that case, the court upheld the Commissioner’s rejection of an invention implemented by way of software. The Federal…
Read MoreDo FinTech Patents Have a Future?
February 22, 2017
Every day brings a new flurry of articles about FinTech (“financial technology”) startups and their potential to be disruptive forces. Traditional banking and financial industry players are said to be at great risk. However, many of them have seen this coming and are preparing to defend their turf.…
Read MoreTreatment of GUI Patent Claims in Canada
February 07, 2017
Canadian patent examiners sometimes object to graphical user interface claims on the basis that they are unpatentable since they have “purely intellectual or aesthetic significance.” There is an old line of decisions that hold that something having solely intellectual or aesthetic significance is…
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