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A Guide to Patents: Glossary
- Abstract
- A brief summary of an invention.
- Abuse of patent rights
- Abusing one's patent rights by failing to make one's invention
available in Canada on a commercial scale, without adequate reason.
- Advanced examination
- A request to the Patent Office for early consideration of a patent application.
- Canadian Patents Database online
- You can now do a preliminary search of patent bibliographical
information and view images for issued patents (1920 to date) and
applications made public in Canada since October 1989 via Internet.
- Patent Office
- Canada's patent granting authority and disseminator of patent information.
- Canadian Patent Office Record (CPOR)
- A journal published by the Patent Office.
- Claims
- That part of a patent which defines the boundaries of patent protection.
- Compulsory licence
- The right granted by the Commissioner of Patents to one or more parties
to produce a patented invention. These are granted, under certain
circumstances as a measure against abuse of patent rights.
- Convention priority
- An arrangement which allows inventors interested in applying for a
foreign patent to have their filing date in one country recognized
by other countries that have signed an international agreement
called the Paris Convention.
- Copyright
- Provide protection for literary, artistic, dramatic or musical works
(including computer progams), and three other subject-matter known as:
performance, sound recording and communication signal.
- Drawings
- Part of the patent application. Technical drawings that illustrate the invention.
- Examination of an application
- The process by which the Patent Office determines whether a patent
application warrants the granting of a patent.
- Filing date
- The date a patent application is received by the Patent Office.
- Filing a patent application
- Presenting a formal application for a patent to the Patent Office.
- First to file
- A patent system in which the first inventor to file a patent application
for a specific invention is entitled to the patent. In Canada and in
most other countries, the first person to file has priority over
other people claiming rights for the same invention.
- Industrial design
- The visual features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament (or
any combination of these features), applied to a finished article of manufacture.
- Integrated circuit topography
- The three-dimensional configuration of the electronic circuits embodied
in integrated circuit products or layout designs.
- Intellectual property
- A form of creative endeavour that can be protected through a patent,
trade-mark, copyright, industrial design or integrated circuit topography.
- Licensing an invention
- Allowing a business or individual to manufacture and sell an invention,
usually in exchange for royalties.
- Patent
- A government grant giving the right to exclude others from making,
using or selling an invention. A Canadian patent applies within Canada
for 20 years from the date of filing of a patent application. The patent
application is available to the public 18 months after filing.
- Patent Cooperation Treaty
- An international treaty providing for standardized filing procedures
for foreign patents in the countries that have signed the treaty.
- Patent examiner
- An official with technical
expertise charged with the task of classifying a patent or an application,
or of determining whether a patent application fulfils the requirements
for a grant of patent.
- Patent infringement
- Making, using or selling an invention on which a patent is in force
without the inventor's permission.
- Patent Office Action
- An official written communication by the Patent Office on the merits
of an application.
- Patent pending
- A label sometimes affixed to new products informing others that the
inventor has applied for a patent and that legal protection from
infringement (including retroactive rights) may be forthcoming.
- Patent search
- A review of existing patents. Patent searches are conducted to determine
whether an applicant can claim rights to an invention, or whether a patent
has already been issued to someone else on the same or a similar invention.
Patent infringement searches are made to ascertain whether a product or
process can be produced without having to get permission or pay a
royalty. Patent searches are also used as a form of research to gain
information on existing technology.
- Preferred embodiment
- An explanation, in a patent application, of the most appropriate and
useful practical applications of an invention.
- Prior art
- The body of existing patents or patent applications or any other
publication throughout the world, relevant to an application or a patent.
- Prosecution
- All the steps involved in following through on a patent application.
- Registered patent agent
- A specialist entitled to prepare and prosecute patent applications.
- Small entity
- An individual, a commercial concern of 50 or fewer employees, or a university.
- Special order examination
- A request to the Patent Office for early consideration of a patent application.
- Specification
- Part of the patent application. It includes a detailed description of
the invention, claims specifying the aspects of the invention for which
protection is sought, and the extent of the protection being sought.
- TechSource
- TechSource is an electronic patent system which holds the scanned image
of over 1.5 million patent documents dating back to 1920 and the text
version of the documents from 1978.
- Trade-mark
- A word, symbol or design (or any combination of these features), used
to distinguish the wares and services of one person or organization
from those of others in the marketplace.
- Trade secret
- Information about a product or process kept secret from competitors.
A Guide to Patents
| Table of Contents | Patent Protection |
| Patent Information | Appendix I - Format of the Application |
| Appendix II - Filing an Application | Glossary |
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