Canadian Intellectual Property Office

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO; French: Office de la propriété intellectuelle du Canada, OPIC) is responsible for the administration and processing of the greater part of intellectual property (IP) in Canada. CIPO's areas of activity include patents, trademarks, copyright, industrial designs and integrated circuit topographies. Structurally, CIPO functions as a special operating agency (SOA) under Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. CIPO is based in Gatineau, Quebec, part of the National Capital Region. CIPO’s current interim Chief Executive Officer is Konstantinos Georgaras. CIPO plays an integral role in the Canadian innovation ecosystem and cooperates with its counterpart organizations around the world through international IP treaties. Continued collaboration with international partners and domestic stakeholders strengths the Canadian IP regime and provides CIPO’s clients with opportunities to extract greater value from their creations and inventions. In 2019, Canada ratified and fully implemented the Hague Agreement for industrial designs; the Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Agreement for trademarks; and the Patent Law Treaty for patents. Prior to 2019, Canada had joined the TRIPS Agreement and the Paris Convention for intellectual property; the WIPO Convention for trademarks and copyright; the Berne Convention, the Rome Convention and the Marrakesh VIP Treaty for copyright; and the Budapest Treaty, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the Strasbourg Agreement and the UPOV Convention for patents. In 2020, CIPO received approximately 160,000 applications to register more than 37,000 patents, 76,000 trademarks, 12,500 copyrights and 8,000 industrial designs. CIPO is responsible for processing applications to register patents, trademarks, copyrights and industrial designs. CIPO's mandate is to provide this service and, more generally, to provide education on intellectual property to Canadians.