Why Canadian Tech Companies Should Consider Patents

Canada’s tech industry is on an ascending trend since 2011 when tech companies and startups started investing in local resources. Therefore, in 2019, the tech industry registered a new year of steady growth with a growth rate of 3.6% over the previous year and about 60,000 new positions.

Moreover, even with the challenges of COVID-19, the Canadian tech sector did not budge and continued to deliver profitable and solid businesses. Moreover, the recent development in Canadian tech attracts the attention of leading investors and innovative entrepreneurs from all around the world. As a direct result, Canada is slowly turning into a hub for innovation and intellectual property resources, which can be both beneficial and worrisome for officials. 

While it is a great thing to have more innovators set their headquarters in the country, it’s also important to create the right environment (especially from a regulatory standpoint) to ensure equal chances for everyone. 

Luckily, Canadian authorities already considered this issue and worked hard to create a national patenting system that can respond to people’s needs. Nowadays, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office is one of the top ten patent filing offices in the world. 

The Advantages of a Canadian Patent

The rules to how to patent an idea in Canada are pretty much the same as the ones in the US and Europe, but the Canadian system is a bit more flexible in some areas. 

Here are a few examples to consider: 

• You can patent a business method as long as a computer is essential for the implementation. This makes Canada very attractive for filing patents for software, fintech, and business method patents.
• The examination period is more flexible and can be delayed up to five years once the documents have been filled. This allows startups on a tight budget to spread out the costs without risking losing ownership of their idea or product. On the other hand, you can also accelerate the examination process by including your application in the PPH program (without paying any additional fees). 
• Lower costs than in the US or Europe, even for large entities. In addition, you don’t have to pay any excess claim fees and you can include as many claims as you want in an application (there is no limitation). 
• The patentee’s rights are well-respected by Canadian jurisdiction. Moreover, litigation tends to progress fast, so it saves both time and money for all the parts involved.  

Patent Benefits for Startups

The tech and financial sector run entirely on innovative ideas and products, so intellectual property protection is a must-have. A patent can protect the interests of the inventor (company or individual) by stopping other parties from using the idea or product without approval. 

In addition, once a patent is approved, it stops others from registering similar products that will infringe on the existing patent. 

Therefore, as Canada grows into a powerful tech hub and it starts gathering some of the most profitable online businesses and entrepreneurs from all over the world, people also get a fighting chance in protecting their investments.

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