The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has launched the Next Generation Patents (NGP) initiative to modernize its public-facing and internal patent IT infrastructure. Central to the program are the MyCIPO Patents portal and its public-facing component, which launched on July 17, 2024. The portal represents the first comprehensive overhaul of CIPO’s patent systems in decades and underpins CIPO’s broader 2023-2028 Business Strategy commitment to “timely delivery of quality IP services through operational excellence and a modern client experience.” In parallel with the portal launch, CIPO adopted a phased roadmap intended to restore, and ultimately improve upon, the full suite of patent services disrupted by the migration to the new environment.
Regarding the internal patent IT infrastructure, the launch of the MyCIPO portal was to coincide with a planned two-week shutdown of the Canadian Patents Database (CPD). During the transition to the MyCIPO portal, CIPO needed to migrate data, update systems, and integrate the CPD with the new MyCIPO Patents infrastructure. This process required taking the CPD offline to ensure the integrity of the data, implement new functionalities, and align the database with the upgraded digital environment. The CPD was scheduled to become available again on August 1, 2024, after these critical updates and system integrations were completed.
Now that it has been about one year since the implementation of MyCIPO, we can look into where we stand and how CIPO is doing in regard to its stated goal of timely delivery of quality IP services with a modern client experience. Based on the current state of the examination delays and persistent errors in the data presented in the CPD, CIPO seems to be falling well short of this goal to date. Although the portal is now functionally live for all new filings, many back-office processes continue to operate under temporary workarounds or extended service standards. CIPO recently confirmed that routine operational targets have effectively doubled to 36 weeks for numerous tasks.
The CPD is essential to all stakeholders as it is viewed as the “official” online repository managed by CIPO to provide easy public access to information about Canadian patent applications and granted patents. The CPD serves as a critical tool for applicants, patent agents, legal professionals, and the general public to search, review, and verify the status and details of patent filings in Canada. Accordingly, even a short downtime could have significant consequences for anyone relying on the data to make critical business decisions based on the public record of IP rights in Canada.
Although the CPD went live again on August 1, 2024, its return has been accompanied by systematic data-integrity problems. Key persistent issues include:
- Incomplete or delayed recordation: Payments, transfers, amendments, and examination requests are often accepted and viewable in MyCIPO Patents while remaining invisible in the CPD for weeks or months.
- Erroneous status flags: CIPO acknowledges that some applications appear “in good standing” online despite being technically abandoned or expired, while others show abandonment even though timely action was taken.
- Maintenance fee visibility: A maintenance fee reflected in MyCIPO Patents is the determinative proof of receipt; CPD entries lag substantially, particularly for fees duly paid outside the portal.
- Duplicate and truncated correspondence: Applicants continue to receive duplicate filing certificates, national-entry acknowledgements missing priority data, or notices with truncated titles/inventor names. CIPO will not issue corrected versions unless the defect involves the application number or prevents delivery.
- Search reliability: Because the CPD may not capture the current legal status of an application or patent, third-party searches no longer provide dependable freedom-to-operate assurances. CIPO has advised users not to rely exclusively on CPD data when assessing statutory deadlines or validity.
CIPO is dedicating additional resources to data correction, but it has asked users to report CPD anomalies only when loss of rights is imminent. An internal “data clean-up” team is in place, yet no target date has been set for eliminating the backlog.
The dual record-keeping model—immediate docketing in MyCIPO Patents but delayed reflection in CPD—has created substantive uncertainty for right-holders and third parties. Delays in issuing late notices for missed maintenance fees or examination requests have effectively extended statutory periods, leading to potential discrepancies between the legal and publicly visible status of applications. Moreover, issuances of examiner requisitions and subsequent allowances have slowed, extending overall prosecution times well beyond historical norms. It is also noted that CIPO acknowledges continued difficulty obtaining timely confirmation of agent appointments, transfers of ownership, and divisionals, all of which can impede transactional or financing timelines.
CIPO continues to emphasize that the NGP is an iterative project; successive fixes are planned throughout 2025 (and likely beyond) to stabilize the portal, automate remaining correspondence, and reconcile CPD data. While measurable progress has been realized—particularly in resuming e-granting and clearing much of the early amendment backlog—stakeholders should expect extended processing times and should routinely verify filings in both MyCIPO Patents and internal records, when possible, rather than relying on the CPD alone.
For third parties who do not have access to MyCIPO Patents, it is essential to recognize the limitations of the Canadian Patents Database (CPD) as a source of current legal status. Because the CPD may not reflect recent filings, payments, or changes in ownership, third parties should not rely solely on CPD data for freedom-to-operate analyses, due diligence, or transactional decisions. Where up-to-date status is critical, third parties may need to request confirmation directly from the patent owner or their agent, or seek written assurances as part of any transaction. Another alternative may be to order certified copies of the file history directly from CIPO. Until CIPO completes its data reconciliation and system stabilization, third parties should proceed with caution and assume that public records may be incomplete or outdated.