Tara Derickx was appointed Chairperson of the Patent Appeal Board on December 11, 2023. As chair, she is responsible for advising the Commissioner of Patents on various patent issues that are quasi-judicial in nature.
Tara began her career in the public service at CIPO, after completing her Bachelor of Applied Science in electrical engineering at Queen’s University. Dating back to 2002, her extensive patent experience includes working in the Electrical Division as section head, acting director and patent examiner, with specialty areas including the complex prosecution of gaming and business methods and the administration and prosecution of secret applications. In 2020, she led the Patent IT Services and Patent Business Intelligence and Information Management Services teams, where her role was to coordinate IT services and data management for the Patent Branch. In March 2023, Tara served as the director of IT Modernization with the Programs Branch, where she was responsible for testing and business operational readiness for the Next Generation Patents solution.
