Pre-assessments have declined significantly in recent weeks, as seen in the chart below.
As of 19-Sep-2022 there are 189,112 applications in CIPO’s backlog of unexamined applications. The oldest such applications were filed in January 2019. Click here for further details of the unexamined application backlog as of 19-Sep-2022.
Of the 189,112 unexamined applications:
- 15,141 (8%) have received a positive pre-assessment result (i.e. “Acceptable Goods or Services” or “Produits ou services acceptables”);
- 107,757 (57%) have received a negative pre-assessment result (i.e. a result other than “Acceptable Goods or Services” or “Produits ou services acceptables”); and
- 66,214 (35%) have not undergone pre-assessment.
Of the 107,757 unexamined applications which have received a negative pre-assessment result:
- 28,776 were filed in 2019
- 28,623 were filed in 2020
- 32,740 were filed in 2021
- 17,618 were filed in 2022
8,597 applications which have undergone pre-assessment have been examined as of 19-Sep-2022. Of those, the pre-assessment result was negative in 3,115 cases (i.e. 36%) and positive in the other 5,482 cases (64%).
Of the 8,597 examined applications which have undergone pre-assessment:
- 4,684 were filed in 2019
- 3,164 were filed in 2020
- 620 were filed in 2021
- 129 were filed in 2022
CIPO may have reallocated some resources that were previously directed to the pre-assessment initiative. Let’s hope that any such reallocated resources will be directed to examination of the oldest cases in the backlog—irrespective of whether they have undergone pre-assessment.
