The following is a general overview of the information that is required for a patent application. If you decide to apply for patent protection, you should consider contacting a lawyer or a registered patent agent for assistance because the application process and patent laws are complex, and an error can be fatal to your application.

Although the Patent Office at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) does not provide a standard application form for you to fill out, your patent application must follow a standard format. Filing a patent application includes submitting information that describes your design, paying applicable fees, then submitting your application. with CIPO.

Completing a patent application

The application you write will become your patent. Make sure the description, claims and drawings in your application are clear and follow the formatting requirements.

Your application MUST include the following:

• Petition
• Statement of entitlement
• Inventor information
• Information about invention
  • Abstract
  • Specification and Claims
  • Description
  • Drawings
• Sequence listing (if applicable)

Petition

First, you must fill out a petition, which is the request for a patent.  A blank petition form can be printed off the CIPO website. Otherwise, use the Petition for Grant of Patent form to generate a printable petition to include with your application. This form asks for the names and complete addresses of all the inventors, a title for the invention, and the name of the patent agent who will be acting on your behalf.

Statement of Entitlement

You must provide one of the following statements:

• the applicant or applicants are entitled to apply for a patent
• the applicant is the sole inventor of the subject matter
• the applicants are all inventors and the sole inventors of the subject

Inventor information

You must provide the names and addresses of all inventors.

Information about invention

You must submit information about your invention. There are three parts to the submission:

1. The abstract
2. The specification, claims, and description
3. Drawings of the invention

Abstract: The abstract is a short technical description of the invention and describes how it is different from other inventions. It is basically a summary.

Specification and claims: The specification must include a clear and complete description of the invention and its usefulness. One very important part of the specification is the “claims.” The claims are a definition of the boundaries of patent protection that you want. They are like a fence around the patented invention that protects it from trespassers. Everything that is not enclosed by this fence is freely available to be copied, manufactured, or sold by the public.

The difficult part of the application is to write the claims so that the invention is defined broadly enough to provide the maximum protection, while also being specific enough to differentiate your invention from what others have done before you. A claim can only cover what you have invented. A registered patent agent can write the claims for your application.

Description: The description must be able to answer the questions of “what is your invention” and “how does it work.”  Make sure your description is a complete and full description. This is important because you can’t add any new information to your patent application once you have filed it. Start with general background information and then move on to more detailed information about your invention and its parts.

Drawings: The final part of the required information is the drawings of the invention. There are specific requirements that must be followed with respect to the size, quality, and detail of the drawings. The drawings should also clearly show all parts of the invention defined in the claims. If you can’t illustrate your invention with drawings, you may include photographs that show the invention with your application.

Submit application and pay fees

Once the application package is prepared and it meets all requirements, you can submit your application and pay your fees (click here for more information on patent fees). You may file your application online, in person, or by mail. To file your patent application and pay fees online, you need a My Canada Business Account (formerly known as My ISED Account).

If you do not pay your fees or request examination when you file, you can do it later, but you will have to use the general correspondence form.

Other information

• Applicants do not have to submit a filing fee in order to establish a filing date.  If the application fee is not submitted when the patent application is filed, the Commissioner of Patents must notify the applicants that the missed application fee and the late fee must be submitted within three months of the date of the notice. If they are not, the application will be deemed withdrawn.
• Applicants are able to submit their application in a foreign language to establish a filing date, avoiding translation costs.
• Applicants are allowed, for the purposes of establishing a filing date, to substitute a reference to another previously filed application, as opposed to having to resubmit other parts of the application, such as the specifications or drawings.

For more information on the latest rules for filing a patent application, visit the Canadian Intellectual Property Office website.

								
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