Canada has approved amendments to the Canadian Patent Act that will enable Canada to conform to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The PCT is administered by WIPO and establishes a procedure enabling a potential patentee to file a single application for approval by various member states. The relatively minor amendments result from the unanimous decision taken by the Patent Assembly at WIPO in September to modify the Treaty and extend the time limit for transmitting a PCT application to national patent offices from 20 to 30 months, irrespective of whether the applicant has requested an international preliminary examination. The modification is effective as of April 1, 2002.
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