A patent is a document issued by a national government. It grants an inventor the right to prevent anyone else from making, using or selling their invention without permission. In most countries, the right lasts twenty years.
In exchange, the inventor must provide a detailed description of the invention. This allows others to benefit from knowledge about current technologies, while maintaining the inventors' right to profit from it.
A Canadian patent only grants rights within Canada. Inventors who wish to extend their rights to other countries must apply for patents in those countries (however, there is a streamlined process for this; see the International Patent Cooperation Treaty section). A group of patents from different countries, protecting a single invention, is called a patent family.
A patentable invention may be:
There are three types of patents:
You can learn more about the difference between utility and design patents by watching the video below.
How do you determine if an invention is eligible for a patent?
According to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), a patentable invention must be:
