What is the cost of getting patent in Canada
The official fee for filing a patent application in Canada is CAD 210.51 for small entities and CAD 421.02 for others. Attorney fees for drafting a patent application in Canada would be around CAD 1334 to CAD 2000 or (USD 1000 to USD 1500) based on the complexity of the invention.
Table of Contents
- What is the cost of getting patent in Canada
- Stage-wise Cost for getting a patent in Canada
- Stage 1: invention disclosure
- Stage 2: Novelty search / Patentability Search
- Stage 3: Opinion about patentability
- Stage 4: Patent writing or patent drafting
- Stage 5: Filing Patent application
- Stage 6: Patent Examination
- Stage 7: Office action
- Stage 8: Grant of Patent / Issue of Patent
How much is the cost of getting a patent in Canada? There is no precise and accurate answer to this question as the cost of obtaining a patent is dependent on multiple factors, however, lets discuss an approximate range of costs involved at each stage from invention disclosure to grant of patent
There are two elements for the cost of getting a patent in Canada:
- The costs for Patent Office (CIPO) fees for Forms, requests, and renewals.
- Professional Charges for patent agent / attorney
Government or official fees for filing patent in Canada is :
| Small entity | Standard fees | |
| Patent application fees | CAD 210.51 | CAD 421.02 |
| Request for examination Fees | CAD 408.00 | CAD 816.00 |
| Final Fees | CAD 153.00 | CAD 306.00 |
The link here is the fees structure mentioned Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) website.
Here is how you will need Patent attorney charges as per stages in patent filing. We are assuming you have hired a patent attorney helping you with patent filing, which is recommended and makes all patenting efforts worthwhile with his experience and expertise in techno-legal writing.
The Patent attorney fees requires in stages as your invention proceeds from
Stage-wise Cost for getting a patent in Canada
- Novelty Search CAD 333 to CAD 533 or (USD 250 to USD 400)
- Non-provisional Patent drafting CAD 1334 to CAD 2000 or (USD 1000 to USD 1500)
- and after 1 to 2 years for responding to office actions if any objections are received in an examination report, such response to office actions typically requires CAD 667 to CAD 1334 or (USD 500 to USD 1000)
Selecting the Right patent attorney for your invention at the right cost can be a more complex process than you would have imagined.
Before we proceed, One thing (question) most certainly hits the inventors mind at least once in the process of getting a patent for his invention that is:
“If I am the creator of the invention, I know it inside out and I can describe it in a detailed manner then why does Patent Attorney charge so much fees to write my patent application in the right format ?”
To get a quick and self-evident answer to your question, check our section on Why Patent Attorney charges so much fees just to write my patent application?
As a matter of fact, Patent attorney Professional charges are the most expensive component which drastically varies based on the complexity of the invention to be patented, the field of invention, and the experience of the patent attorney.
Stage 1: invention disclosure
This is the initial phase when you (inventor) disclose your invention to the patent attorney you selected to work with (patent agent) by signing a Non-disclosure agreement. This agreement is to ensure the confidentiality of your invention and there are no charges for signing NDA.
When writing Invention disclosure for your invention you should submit each know fact about your invention, description diagrams, and experimental results (if any). Hold nothing back. The disclosure of the invention must be
- described in substantial details
- includes pictures, flowcharts, diagrams where ever applicable
- Optionally includes experimental data proving novelty and non-obviousness
- Charts and tables about research and development
This helps patent attorney in patent research as well as the drafting process.
Stage 2: Novelty search / Patentability Search
In this phase, patent attorney/agent performed an extensive search for prior art in all possible databases for patent, articles, thesis, etc… And builds a patentability search report based on the closest prior art found for your invention.
Although an optional step, Doing a novelty search for your invention can really save you thousands of dollars for involving in the patent process for an invention that is not novel and already known to the public.
Cost of patentability search: the Patent attorney fee for Novelty search can range from CAD 333 to CAD 533 or (USD 250 to USD 400)
Time required for patentability search: the time required is about 5-7 working days
The patent attorney generally prefers to have an independent opinion about the novelty search so most of them outsource it to a patent researcher.
Stage 3: Opinion about patentability
Upon receiving the novelty search report for your invention, the next step is a critical review by a patent attorney to build an opinion about the patentability of your invention. Here the cost defers based on the complexity of invention and number of closely associated prior arts found in the research. This opinion tells you (inventor) whether it would be wise to proceed with patent filing or not.
Cost: the cost for providing patentability opinion ranges from CAD 80 to CAD 100
Time required: The time required for providing patentability opinion ranges from 3-4 hours to a couple of days based on the complexity of the invention and prior arts cited in the novelty search report
On reviewing the patentability search report and discovered the closest prior arts for your invention you can make a decision on whether to go ahead with patent application filing. Your patentability opinion should be positive, that is, your invention needs to have an “inventive step” as compared with existing prior art to be able to qualify for a patent.
When you decide to go ahead with patent filing next step is writing a patent application also called patent drafting.
Stage 4: Patent writing or patent drafting
Drafting a patent application is a specialized job and requires both technical (field of the invention) and legal (Canada patent law) understanding. Patent is a techno-legal document. Many inventors trying to write a patent application on their own write it from a completely technical perspective. Writing a patent application as a technical document without considering the legal aspect may be a mistake that can make your application not worth a lot. And all the efforts you took for research and development can go waste.
Hence, a right patent attorney with appropriate experience can remarkably add value to patent application.
If you are still thinking, whether you would be saving few thousand of dollars by writing and filing your patent application on your own (without the help of a patent attorney) our secion would help you decide if you can go for patent drafting and filing on your own (Do it yourself) or do I really need to hire a patent attorney for writing and filing patent application ?
Drafting of patent application is a most important step in the entire life cycle of Patent for the protection of your invention. This is the step where the real skills of a patent attorney come into play as patent drafting is:
- the most time consuming
- most complex
- and skillful task that requires years of experience in technology as well as patent law
Cost of patent drafting in Canada : The cost of drafting a patent application in Canada is dependent on multiple factors like field of invention and complexity and the cost can range from CAD 1334 to CAD 2000 or (USD 1000 to USD 1500)
Cost of drafting Patent application in Canada:
| Simple invention | Complex invention | Very complex invention |
| CAD 1334 or USD 1000 | CAD 1600 or USD 1200 | CAD 2000 or USD 1500 |
Time required to draft a patent application in Canada: it takes about 1 to 2 weeks time for a patent attorney to draft an application for an invention. It certainly can take more time based on complexity, length of the detailed description, and availability of patent attorney’s time.
Stage 5: Filing Patent application
When you are ready with the well drafted patent application, you can file it in Canadian intellectual property office CIPO.
Government or official fees for filing patent application in Canada is :
| Small entity | Standard fees | |
| Patent application fees | CAD 210.51 | CAD 421.02 |
When you are done with the review of the patent drafted and satisfied with the scope and technical details in the patent application, you can file the patent application at CIPO, with appropriate forms with appropriate fees. Publication of patent application occurs after the expiration of an 18-month period following the earliest effective filing date or priority date claimed by an application.
Stage 6: Patent Examination
Request for examination Fees for patent in Canada is :
| Small entity | Standard fees | |
| Request for examination Fees | CAD 408.00 | CAD 816.00 |
Time required for examination of application: CIPO takes the application for examination (in about 12-36 months). The examination of patent application is a complicated process and may take more than 2 years. You can get examination done sooner by expediting your patent application.
Stage 7: Office action
Office action contains the objections raised about your patent application by the patent examiner, which can range from a variety of objections. You (inventor) has a chance to respond to objection and put your side in front of the examiner, this is something called “response to office actions” in most cases the response is drafted with the help of your patent attorney.
This is a chance for an inventor to communicate his novelty or inventive step over prior arts found in the examination report. The inventor and patent attorney create and send a response to the office action that tries to prove that his invention is indeed patentable and satisfies all patentability criteria.
or optionally modifies the claims accepting objections raised, that is the applicant may amend the patent application as specifically required by the examiner and proceed with the grant of patent.
Professional Fees: The patent agent /attorney fee is CAD 667 to CAD 1334 or (USD 500 to USD 1000) for response to office action depending upon complexity, subject matter and number of objections.
Stage 8: Grant of Patent / Issue of Patent
If the examiner determines that your application is in satisfactory condition and meets the requirements, you will receive a Notice of Allowance.
The notice of allowance will list the issue fee and may also include the publication fee that must be paid prior to the Patent being issued. The patent grant is mailed on the issue date of the patent.
If your patent application is allowed, you’ll be sent a notice of allowance that will ask for the final fee, as well as an excess page fee of $6.12 for each page of the specification and drawings after 100 pages. If you do not pay the final fee by your deadline (4 months from the mailing date of the notice), your patent application is deemed abandoned.
Final fees in Canada is :
| Small entity | Standard fees | |
| Final Fees | CAD 153.00 | CAD 306.00 |
Renewal of patent fees : Once the patent is granted, it will be valid for up to 20 years from the date of filing the application. You are required to pay a maintenance fee periodically to maintain the patent in force.
for details about fees you may check CIPO patent fees
For details on steps and procedures for getting patent in Canada refer sections in list below
- Step 1: Idea incubation phase (inception of invention)
- Step 2: Patentability search or novelty search (optional step)
- Step 3: Patent drafting / writing
- Step 4: Filing patent application
- Step 5: Publication of patent application
- Step 6: Examination of patent application
- Step 7: Office action- Response to objections
- Step 8: Grant of patent / Notice of Allowance
- Indian Patent Office, Govt. of India
- Patent Facilitator for Start-ups, Startup India Govt. of India
- Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunication engineering.
- Author of multiple books on Patents and IPR including a best-selling book on “How to patent an idea in India” which has been selected as the “Memorable Business Book of 2018” by Amazon
- Books are included in the syllabus of Educational Institutions as textbook and reference book on subject of IPR and Patents
- For over 15 years, Prasad has helped protect the intellectual property rights (IPR) of more than 1800 clients, including individuals, entrepreneurs, and educational institutes. This includes patents, trademarks, designs, and copyrights.