On January 1, 2025, Canada will implement a patent term adjustment (PTA) system to account for unreasonable delays by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) in issuing a patent. The final regulations were published on December 18, 2024.
Highlights:
- Few patents will qualify for substantial PTA. Applicant delay has minimal, if any, effect on PTA.
- Deferring examination will improve the likelihood of PTA.
- Compact prosecution, including pre-emptive amendments at the time of requesting examination or first Examiner’s Report, may improve the likelihood of PTA.
- CIPO will not calculate PTA unless it is requested and a $2500 fee paid within three months of patent issue.
- Only patents filed after December 1, 2020 and issuing after December 1, 2025 will qualify for PTA.
For an in-depth analysis and a practical guide for Applicants, read David Schwartz’s article.
Related Publications & Articles
-
Crisp boundaries: Federal Court defines the scope of protection for French fry manufacturing process patent
In McCain Foods Limited v J.R. Simplot Company (2025 FC 1078), the Federal Court of Canada found that the Defendant’s use of pulsed electric fields (PEF) to pretreat potatoes before further processing...Read More -
AI training copies blessed as “fair use” by U.S. Court – Can a similar path be forged in Canada?
Judge Alsup’s summary judgement order in Bartz v Anthropic PBC released June 23, 2025 is making waves in the copyright and AI world.Read More -
CIPO announces end to accelerated trademark examination, upcoming changes to pre-approved terms, and anticipated nine-month wait times to examination, suggesting examination backlog is now under control
On July 16, 2025, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) announced new practices related to trademark examination and the acceptance of recommendations for pre-approved goods and services.Read More