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How to Become an Agent

To view the steps on how to become a Canadian Trademark Agent, click here.

HOW TO BECOME A CANADIAN PATENT AGENT

The following steps to become a patent agent are not the official rules. If you are interested in becoming a patent agent, you must consult the information provided by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), especially regarding the strict deadlines for the exams. 

Step One: Verify that you meet the prerequisites

There are no formal education requirements to become a patent agent. The education must be obtained by working as a trainee (i.e. a form of apprenticeship). However, obtaining a position as a patent agent trainee is almost impossible without an engineering or a science degree.

If you are a resident of Canada and have worked for at least 24 months in the area of Canadian patent law and practice, including preparing and prosecuting patent applications, you will be eligible to take the Patent Agent Qualifying Examination.

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) administers the Examination and maintains the Register of Patent Agents in accordance with the Patent Rules.

For the Examination Guidelines and other relevant information click here.

For questions regarding the examination please write to: cipoagentexams@ic.gc.ca.

Step Two: Prepare for the Examination

To complement the on-the-job training, IPIC offers optional introductory and advanced training courses in patent law and practice, including Patent Agent Exam Tutorials.

Please click here for information on our training courses or e-mail us at admin@ipic.ca.

Consult past patent agent exams on CIPO's website by clicking here.

Step Three: Register for the Examination

There is a strict deadline to register for the examination. Obtain that date from CIPO.

When you are eligible to take the exam, you must:

  • Write to the Commissioner of Patents and indicate which paper(s) you wish to write. (You must have completed the 12 months of work by March 31 of the year in which you choose to write the exam.)
  • File an affidavit or statutory declaration regarding work experience in patent law and practice.
  • Pay the examination fee(s) to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). 
  • IPIC publishes candidate guides to writing the patent agent exam. Please click here.

Step Four: Write the Examination

The examination is held in person in many cities over a four-day period in April. There are four papers that must be successfully passed:

Paper A - Drafting

Paper B - Validity

Paper C - Office Practice

Paper D - Infringement

You may register to write one, two, three or all four papers at a time. There is a strict deadline to register for the examination. Each paper is four-hours long and is written by hand. In order to pass the examination, you must receive a minimum score of 50 out of 100 on each paper, with a minimum aggregate of 240. You may carry forward scores greater than 60 out of 100 to subsequent years until all papers have been passed.

Step Five: Register as a Patent Agent

When you have passed all four papers, you may write to the Commissioner of Patents and request to be added to the Register of Patent Agents and pay a fee in order to be authorized to practice in Canada. You will need to pay an annual fee in order to remain on the list.

How to Become a Canadian Trademark Agent

The following steps to become a trademark agent are not the official rules. If you are interested in becoming a trademark agent, you must consult the information provided by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), especially regarding the strict deadlines for the exams. 

Step One: Verify that you meet the prerequisites

There are no formal education requirements to become a trademark agent. The education must be obtained by working as a trainee (i.e. a form of apprenticeship). 

If you are a resident of Canada and have worked for at least 24 months in the area of Canadian trademark law and practice, including preparing and prosecuting trademark applications, you will be eligible to take the Trademark Agent Qualifying Examination. 

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) administers the Examination and maintains the List of Trademark Agents in accordance with the Trademarks Regulations.

For the Examination Guidelines and other relevant information click here.

For questions regarding the examination please write to: cipoagentexams@ic.gc.ca.

Step Two: Prepare for the Examination

IPIC offers optional introductory and advanced training courses in trademark law and practice, including Trademark Agent Exam Tutorials and the Trademark Agent Examination Prep Course. 

Please click here for information on our courses or e-mail us at admin@ipic.ca.

Consult past trademark agent exams on the CIPO website by clicking here.

Step Three: Register for the Examination

There is a strict deadline to register for the examination. Obtain that date from CIPO.

There are strict deadlines in the exam process. Please make sure that you are aware of these deadlines.

When you are eligible to take the exam, you must:

  • Write to the Registrar of Trademarks and indicate you wish to write the exam. (You must have completed the required 24 months of work experience before Oct. 1 of the year in which you write the exam.)
  • File an affidavit or statutory declaration regarding work experience in trademark law and practice.
  • Pay the examination fee(s) to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).

Step Four: Write the Examination

The examination is held in person in many cities across Canada in October. There is a strict deadline to register for the examination.

There are two parts to the exam that must be successfully passed: Part A which focuses on pre-advertisement issues and Part B which focuses on post-advertisement issues. In order to pass the exam, you must receive a minimum score of 65% on each part of the exam. 

IPIC publishes candidate guides to writing the trademark agent exam. Please click here.

Step Five: Register as a Trademark Agent

When you have passed the exam, you may write to the Registrar of Trademarks and request to be added to the List of Trademark Agents and pay a fee in order to be authorized to practice in Canada. You will need to pay an annual fee in order to remain on the list.

MISSION

Our mission is to enhance our members’ expertise as trusted intellectual property advisors, and to shape a policy and business environment that encourages the development, use, and value of intellectual property.


VISION

Our vision is for IPIC to be the leading authority on intellectual property in Canada, and the voice of intellectual property professionals.

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E admin@ipic.ca

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