Canadian Patent System
Author: Linda Johnson

Canadian patents are provided to the first inventor to file an
application. If a competing inventor files before you do they
will own the patent even if you can prove that you were the
first to conceive of the invention. Therefore it is advisable
to file Canadian patents as soon as possible without running
the risk of omitting essential features from the application.
If that happens you may have to reapply later. Advertise,
displaying, or publishing information on your invention too
soon is also not allowed. You can be excluded from this rule if
the disclosure was made by the inventor, or someone who learned
of the invention from the inventor, less than one year before
filing.

Steps in Obtaining Canadian Patents Protection

Preliminary Searching
Conducting a preliminary search of existing Canadian patents is
the most important step. Since it costs money to file for a
patent, even if that patent is refused, determining if your
invention has ever been patented before can save you much time
and money.

Canadian Patents Database Online
Using the Canadian Patents Database Online you can do a
preliminary search of Canadian patents bibliographical
information and have access to descriptions and image documents
on issued Canadian patents since 1920. Also available are all
applications published in Canada since October 1989. Search
options supported include key words in the title, the name of
the inventor, owner or applicant, the international or Canadian
Patents Classification, the PCT information, the abstract or
claims text. This resource can be found at
patents1.ic.gc.ca/intro-e.html

Searching at the Patent Office
The only way to conduct patentability or infringement search on
your own, if you do not want to solicit the aid of patent agent
or lawyer, is by visiting the Patent Office. Canadian Patents
Office staff will not do the search for you, but can direct you
and give you useful information.

There are over 1.5 million Canadian patents held at the Patent
Office in Place du Portage I, Gatineau, Quebec. Patent
documents filed prior to October 1, 1989, are classified
according to the Canadian Patents Classification system and
Canadian Patents documents filed on or after October 1, 1989,
are classified and searchable according to the International
Patent Classification (IPC) system. These documents can be
consulted on the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) Web site at: www.wipo.int/classifications/en/index.html.
The Patent Search Room, in the Client Service Centre, is open
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through
Friday, except on legal holidays.

Full Searching of Canadian Patents Documents using TechSource
TechSource is an electronic patent system that holds the
scanned digital image of over 1.5 million patent documents
dating back to 1920 and the text version of the documents from
1978. The imaging system enables users to view all parts of
Canadian patent documents from workstations. TechSource
includes Inquire/Text, a search and retrieval component, which
allows the searching of the patent database. This image and
text search and retrieval capability is currently available
through the Patent Search Room in Gatineau.


About The Author: Linda Johnson contributes to several web
sites, including http://duned.com and
http://products-resources.com