December 2, 2014 is the deadline for applying to write the Patent Agent Exam which will be held April 28, 29, 30, and May 1, 2015. This is the first year the exam will be held under the new rules which came into force earlier this year.

Here is the notice published to the CIPO website:

Under the provisions of subsection 14(2) of the Patent Rules, notice is hereby given that the 2015 examination will be held on April 28, 29, 30, and May 1, 2015.

A person who proposes to sit for the examination must notify the Commissioner of Patents in writing, furnish the Commissioner with evidence establishing that they meet the requirements set out in paragraph 12(a) of the Patent Rules, and pay the prescribed fee ($200 per paper).

Under the amended Patent Rules, the qualifications necessary to write the exam have changed since previous years extending the experience requirement to 24 months – see Section 12. Also note that the refund rules have changed significantly and refunds will only be offered in very limited circumstances. Since the amendments removed the requirement that the exam be held “in the month of April”, this may be the first time at least one of the exams is held in May.

Note also that unlike under the previous rules, the notice of the examination is published on the CIPO website rather than formally in the Canadian Patent Office Record (see Section 14(2)).