Amendments to the Patent Rules, Trademark Regulations, Industrial Design Regulations and Copyright Regulations were registered on June 1st incorporating fee increases of about 25% as well as expanding the definition of ‘small entity’. The amendments appear to be generally inline with the versions published for consultation earlier this year. Most of the amendments come into force on January 1, 2024.

The amendments to the Patent Rules include the fee increases as well as some housekeeping amendments to other sections. As an example of the fee changes, standard application fee for filing a patent application is increasing from $421.02 to $555 and for a trademark application from $347.53 to $458. as of January 1.

See my earlier post on the consultation documents. CIPO stated at the time that:

CIPO is proposing to adjust most fees by 25% over the 2024 fees to address its current structural deficit situation and return the organization to a position of financial stability.

The definition of ‘small entity’ is changing from businesses that include less than 50 employees to those having less than 100 employees.