Canada

Types of protection

Patent: Patents cover new and useful inventions (product, composition, machine, process) or any new and useful improvement to an existing invention.

Industrial Design: An Industrial Design protects the visual features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament, or any combination of these features applied to a finished article.

Provisional Patent: Canada does not offer provisional patent applications; however, there has been a process in Canada since 1996, which is similar to the process in the U.S., where an applicant can get an early filing date in Canada without filing a complete patent application. Unlike a U.S. provisional patent application which must be filed as a non-provisional application before becoming a patent, in Canada, a second patent application may be filed claiming (internal) priority over the previously filed application. Requirements include a request in writing to have a patent granted, a document in English or French describing the invention, the applicant's name and address (or their patent agent's address); and the filing fee.1

Convention and treaty membership

Canada became a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty in January 1990 and is a signatory to numerous treaties and conventions including, but not limited to the following:

  • Budapest Treaty
  • Paris Convention
  • Rome Convention
  • Strasbourg Agreement
  • WIPO Convention (June 26, 1970)2

International, National and Regional applications

For information regarding how to file international, regional or national patent applications in each country, we welcome you to contact us.

_____________________________

1 https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/wr03683.html?Open&wt_src=cipo-patent-main

2 https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/wr02322.html