CPATA Patent Knowledge case studies
CPATA Patent Knowledge · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Patent Agent Qualifying Examination is the licensing examination administered by the College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents (CPATA) for candidates who wish to become registered Canadian patent agents. Passing it, together with the College's other licensing requirements, allows you to represent clients before the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and to prepare and prosecute patent applications in Canada. The CPATA Patent Knowledge case studies are 5 cases and about 4,133 words.
1Priority Chain Break and the One-Year Clock
A Vancouver medical-device company files a US provisional application on 3 March 2023 describing a catheter hub with a specific septum geometry. On 20 February 2024 it files a PCT application claiming priority from that provisional, naming Canada among the designated states.
1,176 words, about 6 min2Employee Invention, Assignment Gap, and a Competing Licence
A Kitchener robotics firm hired an engineer in 2019 under an employment contract that assigned "all inventions relating to the Company's business" to the employer but said nothing about the engineer's pre-employment work. Before joining, the engineer had built a prototype gripper mechanism on his own time and disclosed it in a job interview.
747 words, about 4 min3Examiner's Section 2 and Utility Objections to a Diagnostic Claim Set
A Montreal biotech files a Canadian application claiming a method of diagnosing early-stage sepsis by measuring three biomarkers and applying a stated threshold algorithm. The specification reports a study of 40 patients, of which 12 were septic, and states that the method "showed good sensitivity" without giving a number.
782 words, about 4 min4Prosecution Timing, Excess Claims, and a Late Prior Art Reference
A Toronto software company has a Canadian application pending since 2020 with 32 claims. It received a first examiner's report in 2022 and responded in 2023.
718 words, about 4 min5Infringement, Experimental Use, and a Remedies Gap
A Quebec manufacturer holds a Canadian patent on a polymer coating process, granted in 2021. A university research group in Ontario has been using the process to produce samples for a study on coating durability, publishing results in 2023.
710 words, about 4 min