Copyright 2011, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Intellectual Property, January 2012

Following the Federal Court of Appeal decision reported in our November 2011 Blakes Bulletin, in which the Amazon.com application was remanded to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) for further consideration, we have now heard that the application has been allowed and a patent will issue with method and apparatus claims.

It would seem that the CIPO will follow the guidance given in the decision and presumably not reject business method applications on the basis that they are per se not patentable.

The CIPO may also need to rescind examination guidelines recently imposed.

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