The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) recently released new guidelines on patentable subject matter and a set of examples applying the new guidelines to computer-implemented inventions, medical diagnostic methods, and medical uses.
Notably, these new guidelines supersede current guidance within the Manual of Patent Office Practice for determining patentable subject matter and introduce a new three-step process for determining patentable subject matter. The steps are:
- Identify “essential elements” of a claim;
- Determine an “actual invention” of the claim; and
- Determine if the “actual invention” of the claim has physicality
Smart & Biggar has a fantastic explainer on the new guidelines, including a breakdown of the new three-step process for determining patentable subject matter. Go here to read the explainer.