Required to Obtain a Filing Date

1. An indication in English or French that the granting of a Canadian patent is sought.
2. The name of the applicant.
3. A document in English or French, that on its face appears to describe an invention.
4. The application fee.

Required To Complete The Application

The following documents are required within 15 months of the filing date to complete the application. If not provided within 15 months they will be requested by the Commissioner of Patents and must be provided within 3 months of the request.

1. A petition in the format of Form 3 in the Patent Rules.
2. An abstract.
3. A claim or claims.
4. Any drawing referred to in the description of the invention.
5. An appointment of a patent agent, associate patent agent, and representative, where required.

Convention Priority

A request for convention priority must be filed within 4 months of the filing date of the patent application. The applicant when requesting priority must identify the previously filed application or applications for which priority is claimed by providing the filing date and the name of the country where the priority application was filed. The serial number of the priority application is required within four months of the Canadian filing date, or twelve months from the priority date, which ever is later. No copy of the priority application is required unless requested by the Commissioner.

Publication

Patent application details are published in the Canadian Patent Office Record and the application is available for public inspection after 18 months from the filing date or the priority date, whichever is earlier.

Applicant

The applicant must be the inventor, or a successor of the inventor. If the applicant is not the inventor, a transfer or other document establishing a chain of title from the inventor to the applicant must be filed before the application issues. A transfer or other document may be filed within approximately 12 months of the filing of the patent application without penalty and the period for filing the transfer or other document may be extended to the date for paying the final fee, upon payment of substantial extension fees.

Execution Of Application

It is not necessary to have the application executed by the applicant or to file any other document signed by the applicant or inventor(s), unless the application is being transferred to the applicant by the inventor.

Execution Of Assignment

Execution of an assignment must be verified by at least a signature of a subscribing witness.

Presentation Of Documents

The patent specification must be:

1. On 8.5" x 11" or A4 (21 cm x 29.7cm) paper.
2. Be clear and free from any corrections.
3. Have the following margins: top - 2 cm.; left side - 2.5 cm.; right side - 2 cm.; bottom - 2 cm.
4. All text matter must be at least 1 1/2 line spaced.
5. Page numbers are to be centred in the top or bottom of each sheet, but not in the margin.

It is possible to obtain a filing date even though the pages are not in the correct format. Any change to a page of the application requires that a new page be submitted.

Claim Date

Each claim in a patent has a "claim date". Different claims may have different "claim dates". The claim date establishes the date for determining patentability of the invention defined by the claim. The claims of a patent describe in precise terms the invention for which protection is sought. The claim date will most often be the filing date of the patent application or the date of filing of a previously filed application from which priority is claimed.

Novelty

A Canadian patent application must be filed within one year of the first public disclosure anywhere in the world by the applicant or by someone who obtained knowledge of the invention directly or indirectly from the applicant. Further, there must have been no public disclosure anywhere in the world of the subject matter of the invention by others before the claim date.

Obviousness

The subject matter defined by a claim in an application for a patent in Canada must be subject matter that would not have been obvious on the claim date to a person skilled in the art or science to which it pertains, having regard to;

1. information disclosed more than one year before the filing date by the applicant or by a person who obtained knowledge, directly or indirectly, from the applicant in such a manner that the information became available to the public in Canada or elsewhere; and
2. information disclosed before the claim date by a person not mentioned in paragraph (a) in such a manner that the information became available to the public in Canada or elsewhere.

Small Entities

A small entity means an entity that employs 50 or fewer people or is a university. It does not include an entity that has transferred or agreed to transfer or license the invention to an entity that has more than 50 employees.

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Examination

For applications filed after October 1, 1996, examination must be requested within five years after the date of filing the application.

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Maintenance Fees

Both applications and patents are subject to annual maintenance fees, which have to be paid prior to the second and subsequent anniversaries of the filing date. The fees may be paid late, at higher cost, but must be paid within a year of the due date to avoid abandonment of an application or subsequent patent. The fees may be paid in advance.

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Term Of A Patent

The term of a patent is twenty years from the date of filing.

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