This manual is intended as a guide to practice under the amended Patent Act and the amended Rules which came into force in October 1996. Sections of the manual cover the following: contacting the Patent Office; opening & inspection of documents; inquiries & information on pending applications; petitions & appointment of agents or representatives; patent filing & completion requirements; patent ownership & registration; internal priority and Convention priority; content of patent application (abstract, description, drawings, claims); patent classification; examination of applications; unity of invention; requirements for patentability; utility and non-statutory subject matter; biotechnology patents; protest and filing prior art; time limits, withdrawal, abandonment, and lapse of patents; final action practice; the Patent Co-operation Treaty; amendments to patents; and fees.

MANUAL OF PATENT OFFICE PRACTICE FOREWORD Welcome to the Manual of Patent Office Practice (MOPOP), a guide for patent examiners, applicants, agents and the public to the operational procedures and examination practices of the Canadian Patent Office. [...] Practices expressed in the MOPOP arise from the Office's interpretation of the Patent Act, Patent Rules and jurisprudence as of the date each chapter came into effect. [...] Effect of withdrawal on opening of applications. [...] Effect of withdrawal of priority on opening to public. [...] Relationship of claimed matter to a field of technology.