Barrigar Intellectual Property Group


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	Fundamentals Time and Money Provisional Option Expense Representation Applicant Patent Rights Requirements Patentability Searches Protection Prior to Filing Application Preparing & Filing an Application Prosecution of an Application Grant of a Patent Foreign Filings Filing Strategies Maintenance Fees Budget Managing Secrecy Marking

Who may represent an Applicant

In Canada, all patent practitioners entitled to represent applicants for patent, for the preparation and prosecution of patent applications, must first write and pass comprehensive examinations in patent law and practice and the writing of patent specifications and claims. The Patent and Trademark Institute of Canada headquartered in Ottawa will provide free of charge a list of Institute members who are qualified to represent applicants for patent. This organization is the Canadian patent profession's largest and most important organization, and it requires adherence by its members to a strict Code of Ethics. Our senior partner Bob Barrigar has served as President of the Institute and as a member of Council for nine years. Bob also served for four years on the Patent Agents Examining Board, which sets the examinations for those wishing to enter the patent profession.

Our offices are duly qualified to represent inventors, not only before the Canadian Patent Office but also before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In fact, we spend the majority of our time on the preparation, filing and prosecution of U.S. patent applications. We work actively with patent practitioners in other countries and can arrange the filing of patent applications anywhere in the world. All of the professional patent advisers in our offices are graduates in a suitable branch of engineering or science.

Inventors should beware of organizations offering in advertising services to sell, exploit, develop or perfect their inventions. An inventor should at least check with the Better Business Bureau before entrusting an invention to any such organization. Many of these organizations seldom help the inventor exploit the invention, and usually cost the inventor a good deal of money, all of which may turn out to have been wasted. Valuable time may also have been lost. Some of the Innovation Centres attached to universities and the like may, for a modest fee, provide a "first impression" opinion of an invention's chances of commercial success, and may provide other useful guidance. We can give you the name of a nearby innovation centre, but caution you that such centres cannot assist you to obtain a patent, and we make no recommendation as to the reliability of their guidance.


	Nothing here written constitutes legal advice. The accuracy of what is written is not guaranteed. Please consult us about any specific matter on which you require legal advice. © Barrigar Intellectual Property Law 2001