Five Ways to Use Pre-Grant Patent Protests

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FIVEWAYSTOUSEPRE-GRANTPATENTPROTESTS

JEREMYLAWSON*
ROBIC,
LLP
L
AWYERS,PATENTANDTRADE-MARKAGENTS

Opportunitiesforathirdpartytoprotestagainstapatentapplicationbeforeitis
grantedvarywidelybyjurisdiction.InCanada,section34.1ofthePatentActand
section10ofthePatentRulesenableanumberofstrategiesforprotestingagainsta
pendingapplication.HerearefivewaystouseCanada’spre-grantprotestsystem.

1.Submitnewpriorart
Oneofthebestwaystousetheprotestsystemistosubmitpriorartpublications
whichtheCanadianExaminerhasnotyetappliedagainstthependingapplication.
Accompanyingthepriorartwithconciseandconvincingargumentscanbeespecially
usefultoencouragetheExaminertoissuerejections.Priorartsubmissionscanbe
madeanonymously,andcanalsobefiledatanytimepriortograntincludingaftera
noticeofallowancehasbeenissued.
2.Nonpriorartgrounds
Aprotestdoesnothavetobebasedonpriorart.Itcanbefiledbasedonany
numberofgrounds,suchasambiguityintheclaimlanguage,lackofutility,orpatent-
ineligiblesubjectmatter.ProtestsbasedonsuchgroundscanleadtoExaminer
rejectionsand,inturn,toclaimamendmentsthatcanprovideenhancedclarityin
termsofinfringementissues.WithCanada’shighbarforutility,aprotestbasedon
lackofdemonstratedutilityorsoundpredictioncanincreasethelikelihoodof
Examinerrejectionsandcanleadtosignificantreductioninclaimscope.Canada
alsohasstricterstandardsforpatent-eligiblesubjectmattercomparedtheU.S.,
especiallyintheareasofbusinessmethods,computer-implementedmethods,and
medicaltreatments.Whensubmittingprotestargumentsthatarenotbasedonprior
art,itcanalsobeusefultomakereferencetotheManualofPatentOfficePractice

©CIPS,2016.*JeremyLawsonisanengineerandpatentagent,partnerwithROBIC,LLP,amultidisciplinaryfirmof
Lawyers,andPatentandTrade-markAgents.Publishedon2016-07-06onLinkedIn.Publication
062.075.

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(MOPOP),whichisusedbyCanadianExaminerstoformulateandsupportclaim
rejections.
3.Protestcombinedwiththirdpartyrequestforexamination

InCanada,toinitiateexaminationofanapplicationarequestmustbefiledalongwith
anexaminationfee.Thedeadlinetofiletherequestforexaminationisfiveyears
fromtheapplication’sfilingdate,andcanbefurtherdelayedinsomecircumstances.
Thisrelativelylongdelayperiodpriortoexaminationcancauseuncertaintyinterms
ofthescopeofprotectionthatmayeventuallybegranted.Typically,itisthe
applicantwhichfilestherequestforexaminationwhenitdecidestogoforwardwith
theapplication.However,athirdpartycaninitiateexaminationbyfilingtherequest
forexamination,thusforcingtheapplicationtobeexamined.Moreover,examination
canbeacceleratedbyathirdpartybyfilingasimplerequestandpayingafee.By
forcingearlyand,insomecases,acceleratedexaminationincombinationwitha
protest,athirdpartycanhopetoquicklygainmorecertaintyaroundtheExaminer’s
viewoftheinventionandthescopeofprotectionthatmaybeallowable.

4.GetpriorartintoacounterpartU.S.case
Thisstrategycanbeviewedasatwo-for-oneapproachwhenaCanadianapplication
alsohasaU.S.counterpartapplication.Notonlywillnewpriorartbemadeofrecord
intheCanadiancase,butitshouldalsobesubmittedtotheU.S.Examinerbythe
applicantoritspatentattorneysviaanInformationDisclosureStatement(IDS)
pursuanttoU.S.dutyofdisclosurerequirements.Insomeinstances,theprotest
argumentsthemselvesmaybesubmittedtotheU.S.Examinerinadditiontothe
priorartreferences.
5.Commentondocumentsalreadyofrecord
Thereisnoobligationtosubmitpriorartnotalreadyofrecordinapending
application.Aprotestcanbefiledinordertocommentonanydocumentofrecordin
anapplication.Athirdpartycanfilecommentsregardingtherelevanceofpriorart
alreadycitedbytheExaminer;theargumentsoramendmentssubmittedbythe
applicantduringexamination;oranyofficeactionsissuedbytheExaminer.Athird
partycanpointtoaspecificpassageinapriorartdocumenttohighlightanticipation
orobviousnessissuesfortheExaminer;submitargumentsregardingthe
specificationandclaimscopeinthecontextofutilityissues;orprovidecommentsto
directlyaddressorcountertheapplicant’sownarguments.

Insummary,Canada’spre-grantprotestsystemcanbeausefultoolforfacilitatinga
varietyofstrategiestochallengependingpatentapplicationswhichmaynotmeetall
oftherequirementsofpatentability.Ofcourse,anyproteststrategyshouldbe

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carefullyconsideredandbalancedagainstthepotentialrisks.Ingeneral,thestrength
ofaprotestshouldbeweighedagainsttheriskofalertingtheapplicantofthe
importanceofthepatentapplicationandagainsttheoptionsavailabletothe
applicanttofixorevenstrengthentheclaims.

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ROBIC,ungrouped’avocatsetd’agentsdebrevetsetdemarquesde
commercevouédepuis1892àlaprotectionetàlavalorisationdelapropriété
intellectuelledanstouslesdomaines:brevets,dessinsindustrielsetmodèles
utilitaires;marquesdecommerce,marquesdecertificationetappellations
d’origine;droitsd’auteur,propriétélittéraireetartistique,droitsvoisinsetde
l’artisteinterprète;informatique,logicielsetcircuitsintégrés;biotechnologies,
pharmaceutiquesetobtentionsvégétales;secretsdecommerce,know-howet
concurrence;licences,franchisesettransfertsdetechnologies;commerce
électronique,distributionetdroitdesaffaires;marquage,publicitéet
étiquetage;poursuite,litigeetarbitrage;vérificationdiligenteetaudit.ROBIC,

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agroupoflawyersandofpatentandtrademarkagentsdedicatedsince1892to
theprotectionandthevalorizationofallfieldsofintellectualproperty:patents,
industrialdesignsandutilitypatents;trademarks,certificationmarksand
indicationsoforigin;copyrightandentertainmentlaw,artistsandperformers,
neighbouringrights;computer,softwareandintegratedcircuits;
biotechnologies,pharmaceuticalsandplantbreeders;tradesecrets,know-
how,competitionandanti-trust;licensing,franchisingandtechnology
transfers;e-commerce,distributionandbusinesslaw;marketing,publicityand
labelling;prosecutionlitigationandarbitration;duediligence.
®/MD

COPYRIGHTER
TM/MC

IDEASLIVEHERE
®/MD

ILATOUTDEMÊMEFALLUL’INVENTER!
®/MD

LAMAÎTRISEDESINTANGIBLES
®/MD

LEGERROBICRICHARD
®/MD

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®/MD

PATENTER
®/MD

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MD

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®/MD

THETRADEMARKERGROUP
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VOSIDÉESÀLAPORTÉEDUMONDE,DESAFFAIRESÀLAGRANDEURDE
LAPLANÈTE
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