Regulations Amending Certain Department of Industry Regulations (Miscellaneous Program): SOR/2022-44

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 156, Number 6

Registration
SOR/2022-44 March 4, 2022

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ACT
PATENT ACT
TRADEMARKS ACT

P.C. 2022-199 March 3, 2022

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Industry, makes the annexed Regulations Amending Certain Department of Industry Regulations (Miscellaneous Program) pursuant to

(a) paragraph 25(h)^{footnote a} of the Industrial Design Act^{footnote b};
(b) paragraph 12(1)(k)^{footnote c} of the Patent Act^{footnote d}; and
(c) paragraph 65(n)^{footnote e} of the Trademarks Act^{footnote f}.

Regulations Amending Certain Department of Industry Regulations (Miscellaneous Program)

Industrial Design Act

Industrial Design Regulations

1 Section 36 of the Industrial Design Regulations^{footnote 1} is amended by adding the following after paragraph (j):

(j.1) September 30 or, if September 30 falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday;

Patent Act

Patent Rules

2 (1) Paragraph 5(c) of the English version of the Patent Rules^{footnote 2} is replaced by the following:

(c) January 1 or, if January 1 falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday;

(2) Paragraphs 5(g) and (h) of the English version of the Rules are replaced by the following:

(g) June 24 or, if June 24 falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday;
(h) July 1 or, if July 1 falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday;

(3) Section 5 of the Rules is amended by adding the following after paragraph (j):

(j.1) September 30 or, if September 30 falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday;

(4) Paragraph 5(l) of the English version of the Rules is replaced by the following:

(l) November 11 or, if November 11 falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday;

Trademarks Act

Trademarks Regulations

3 Section 15 of the Trademarks Regulations^{footnote 3} is amended by adding the following after paragraph (j):

(j.1) September 30 or, if September 30 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday;

Coming into Force

4 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

The need for a number of minor technical amendments to the regulations has been identified with the introduction of a new statutory holiday. Under subsection 78(1) of the Patent Act, where a time period for doing anything ends on a prescribed day or on a day designated by the Commissioner of Patents, the time period is extended to the next day that is not a prescribed day or a designated day. The prescribed days for the purpose of subsection 78(1) of the Patent Act are listed in section 5 of the Patent Rules. The equivalent provisions, pursuant to subsection 66(1) of the Trademarks Act and subsection 21(1) of the Industrial Design Act, appear in the Trademarks Regulations and the Industrial Design Regulations, respectively.

The Patent Rules, the Trademarks Regulations and the Industrial Design Regulations, as currently drafted, do not include the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation observed on September 30 as a day for which the Canadian Intellectual Property Office is closed and deadlines are automatically extended. Without amendments to these regulations, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will be the only statutory holiday not identified. As the Office would be officially closed on September 30, this could potentially cause confusion to stakeholders due to the day not being listed.

Minor amendments to paragraphs 5(c), (g), (h) and (l) of the English version of the Patent Rules are also being made to correct errors in grammatical structure.

Objective

The amendments have the following objectives:

to harmonize terms used in the regulations with those used in the enabling statute or related regulations; and
to add clarity to a regulatory provision.

Description and rationale

The proposed amendments to the regulations will

introduce the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to section 5 of the Patent Rules;
introduce the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to section 15 of the Trademarks Regulations;
introduce the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to section 36 of the Industrial Design Regulations; and
correct the comma placement in paragraphs 5(c), (g), (h) and (l) of the English version of the Patent Rules.