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Canadian Patents DatabaseHelp: ContentHelp from the Client Service Centre Help from the Client Service CentreFor questions or assistance related to the Canadian Patents Database, please contact us. BackgroundThe Canadian Patents Database is an interactive search site designed to help you create simple and powerful searches on Canadian patent information. The database contains patent documents from 1869 to the present. This database is updated regularly with newly granted patents and applications opened to public inspection. See the updated table on What's New. The electronically available patent information consists of patent document images and bibliographic and text data. Searches are performed against the bibliographic and text data fields only, and a "hit list" of matching patents is returned. Images are not searchable but can be viewed for any particular patent that has been returned in a hit list. The text of the abstracts and claims is not available for patents that were granted prior to August 15, 1978. These patents can only be searched by their patent number, titles, owner or inventor names, or classification. Currency of InformationThe information for applications filed directly in the Patent Office will normally be available on this site, within one week of the Open to Public Inspection date. Because all parts of an application are not required at the time of the filing, data field images and text sections of the document may be absent. The information for Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications that enter the Patent Office are delayed from being available on this site because of normal processing restraints. Most parts of the document will normally be available within 9 weeks of the national entry date; however, the text could become available up to 5 weeks later. As mentioned above, because all parts of an application are not required at the time the application becomes available for public inspection, data fields, image and text sections of the document may be absent. The information for New Act patents (patent numbers greater than 2,000,000) will normally be updated on this site, within one week of the issuance of the patent. The information for Old Act patents (patent numbers less than 2,000,000) are always delayed from being available on this site, because of normal processing restraints. Most parts of the document will normally be available within 4 weeks; however, the text could become available up to 2 weeks later. Completeness of Date FieldsThe issue date is searchable from 1869 to the last updated date. The filing date is not available for patents registered prior to August 15, 1978. The priority date and the national entry date are not available for patents registered prior to October 1, 1889. PatentA patent is a government grant giving the exclusive right of making, using or selling an invention. A Canadian patent is effective only in Canada. A patent document can be either a granted patent, or an application open to public inspection. For patent applications filed before October 1, 1989, the term of the patent is normally 17 years from the date of issue. However, where the term for the patent had not expired before July 12, 2001, then the term is 17 years from the issued date or 20 years from the filing date, whichever term expires later. For patent applications filed on or after October 1, 1989, the term of the patent is 20 years from the date of filing of the application. The right of a patent is conditional on the payment of the annual maintenance fees. For more information about patents, visit CIPO's Web site.. Patent Document ImagesEach patent document image is composed of five sections:
Language ConsiderationsCanadian patent applications can be filed in either English or French. All patent documents on this site have both English and French titles. However, between 1960 and 1978, titles are available only in the language used at the time of filing. Patent ClassificationsPatent documents filed prior to October 1, 1989, are classified according to the Canadian Patent Classification (CPC) system. Patent documents filed on or after October 1, 1989, are classified according to the International Patent Classification (IPC) system. The present version of the IPC (IPC-2006 or IPC version 8) is in force since January 1, 2006. The two latest versions (8 and 7) can be consulted on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Web site. Database OverviewPresently, the database lets you search for patent documents by number, by IPC/CPC, PCT applications, availability of licence, language of filing or by words in the inventor, inventor country, owner, owner country, title, abstract, and claims' fields. These searches can be restricted to selected date ranges on any date field. You can:
From the search results screen, you can view patent details (abstract and claims) by clicking on the patent number. Occasionally, the patent abstracts and claims will have imbedded diagrams or formulas that cannot be converted to text; these images will not appear in the patent detail text screens, but you will see the following icon: You can see these non textual components by requesting the patent document images. Similarly you can also download the images of a patent in Adobe AcrobatTM PDF format by clicking on the "Download in Adobe PDF" button. The primary purpose of this facility is to provide a quality print capability. Bibliographic and Text Data FieldsThe number in front of the field (if there is one) is called the International agreed Number for the Identification of (bibliographic) Data code (INID code). INID codes are international standards that identify the type of element in a patent document. These codes are the same for patent documents around the world. The following bibliographic and text data fields are stored on the CIPO Canadian Patents Database and are displayed on request:
The type of document could be a patent or a patent application. On October 1, 1989, a new Patent Act came into effect. Therefore:
The number assigned to an application when it is filed at CIPO. For an application filed on or after October 1, 1989, the number assigned to the application, the patent and the document is the same. Thus, only the application number for an application filed prior to October 1, 1989, is displayed. The name of the invention as provided by the applicant, or as translated by CIPO. All patent documents on this site have both English and French titles, except between 1960 and 1978, where only the filed version title is available. The INVENTORS (Country) field is composed of the names of each person who had a part in making the invention. It also contains the country of origin of each inventor. The Canadian Patents Database displays the complete list of the inventors but does not necessarily reflect the sequence order provided in the petition. The inventors' sequence order provided in the image section of the cover page reflects the order contained in the petition.
On or after October 1, 1989, the OWNERS field is composed of the name of the latest owner(s) registered at CIPO. It also includes the country of origin of each owner. Prior to August 15, 1978, the OWNERS field is composed of the name of the grantee owner(s). During a transition stage, which is between August 15, 1978 to October 1, 1989, the OWNERS field is composed by default of the grantee owner(s); however, if a new assignment occurred after October 1, 1989, the name of the latest owner(s) will appear. Note: For the patent issued, the grantee owner(s) is always displayed in the image section of the cover page. The APPLICANTS (Country) field is composed of the name of the applicants at the time the application was filed at CIPO. It also includes the country of origin of each applicant. (74) Agent The name of the patent agent or patent agent company that represented the owner in front of the Patent Office. The date an application becomes a patent. The date that the patent was reissued after the original patent was surrendered by the patentee. For patents that were filed on or after October 1,1989, the number remains the same as the original patent. For patents that were filed before October 1,1989, the patent reissues with a new number. In both cases the term of the patent remains the same as the original patent. A reissue can occur occasionally and under strict conditions, when a patentee surrenders what is believed to be a defective patent to the Patent Office in order to have the defect fixed. The surrendered patent undergoes further examination and may subsequently be re-allowed and reissued. On extremely rare occasions a patent document may have multiple reissued dates. This site displays only the last reissue date. In order to determine if the patent has been reissued more than once, the cover page image of the patent must be accessed. The date the patent application was filed. If it is PCT originating application, then it is the same date as the PCT filing date. On this site, for divisional patents, where the application was filed before October 1, 1989, the date recorded as the filing date may be the date the divisional application was received, rather than the legal filing date of the parent application. (41) Open to Public Inspection Patent applications filed since October 1, 1989, are open to public inspection. Applications filed on or after October 1, 1989, are made available to the public 18 months after the priority date, or, if there is no priority, 18 months after the filed date, unless the applicant has requested an earlier open to public inspection date. If the application is PCT originating, then the open to public inspection date will normally be the same as the (87) PCT publication date. The date on which a request was made to have an application examined. This applies only to applications filed on or after October 1, 1989. For applications filed on or after October 1, 1996, the request must be made within 5 years from the filed date of the application. For applications filed between October 1, 1989 and September 30, 1996, the request must be made within 7 years from the filing date of the application. The date that a re-examination certificate has been issued for a patent, with changes to the patent as originally issued. (52) Canadian Patent Classification (CPC) The system used by Canada prior to October 1989 to classify inventions. Each application is assigned a main (primary) classification and can also be assigned multiple secondary classifications. The classification will be in the format:
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC) The system used by the international community to classify inventions by type. It has been used in Canada since August 15, 1978. CIPO adopts the most recent version of the International Patent Classification (IPC-2006) which can be consulted on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Web Site. The following example shows how the "advanced" level of IPC-2006 classification symbols appear. Classifications are followed by the "version" date in brackets. Classifications with inventive information appear in bold and italic. Classifications with additional useful non-inventive information appear in normal italic. Only the classification is searchable on the Canadian Patents Database. Example:
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) YES indicates that the application was filed through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The PCT is an international treaty providing standardized filing procedures for foreign patents in the countries that have signed the treaty. The following fields are displayed only when the patent document is a PCT: (85) National Entry, (86) PCT Filing Number, (86) PCT Filing Date, (87) International Publication Number, (87) International Publication Date. The date that a PCT originating application entered the Canadian national phase. The number and the date assigned by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to a patent application at the time it is filed in the PCT system. (87) International Publication Number, PCT Publication Date The number and the date assigned by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to an application filed through the PCT when the application becomes open to public inspection. (30) Application Priority Data Canada is a signatory to international treaties and conventions which grant similar rights throughout many countries. An applicant may use the filing date of a previously filed application as the effective filing date of subject matter in a later filed Canadian application provided that:
This field gives the priority application(s) related to the Canadian application. The order of appearance is: priority number, priority country and priority date. A patent document may have multiple priorities. Only the earliest priority is searchable but all priorities will be displayed. This field indicates whether the owner is willing to sell or license the rights to the patent. Since this data is voluntarily supplied by the owner, "N/A" means either No Licence Available or Data Not Given. Also, since owners may change their minds, further enquiries to the owner of the patent may be required to obtain a definitive answer. This field indicates whether the document is available in English or French. The LANGUAGE OF FILING field applies only to applications open to public inspection and patents granted on or after August 15, 1978. A single paragraph describing the invention. The ABSTRACT field applies only to applications open to public inspection and patents granted on or after August 15, 1978. For the period starting on December 10, 1974, the abstract can be viewed from the abstract image section. A single figure which represents the drawing illustrating the invention. A section that defines monopoly on novelty, and forms the substance of the intellectual property that is to be protected by the patent. The CLAIMS field applies only to applications open to public inspection and patents granted on or after August 15, 1978. The whole claims on patent documents on this site can be viewed on the claims image section. Administrative Status DefinitionsAdministrative status information includes the following status fields and dates associated with the processing of patent applications:
(22) Filed, (86) PCT Filing Date The date the patent application was filed. If it is a PCT originating application, then it is the same date as the PCT filing date. On this site, for divisional patents, where the application was filed before October 1, 1989, the date recorded as the filing date may be the date the divisional application was received, rather than the legal filing date of the parent application. Similarly for reissue patents, where the application was filed before October 1, 1989, the date recorded as the filing date may be the date the request for reissue was received, rather than the legal filed date of the surrendered patent. The date that a PCT originating application entered the Canadian national phase. (41) Open to Public Inspection, (87) PCT Publication Date Patent applications filed since October 1, 1989, are open to public inspection. Applications filed on or after October 1, 1989, are made available to the public 18 months after the priority date, or, if there is no priority, 18 months after the filed date, unless the applicant has requested early open to public inspection date. If the application is PCT originating, then the open to public inspection date will normally be the same as the PCT publication date. The date on which a request was made to have an application examined. This applies only to applications filed on or after October 1, 1989. For applications filed on or after October 1, 1996, the request must be made within 5 years from the filed date of the application. For applications filed between October 1, 1989 and September 30, 1996, the request must be made within 7 years from the filing date of the application. The date that an application open to public inspection was withdrawn at the request of the applicant. The date that the withdrawn status was reversed, usually to correct a situation where the application was erroneously withdrawn by the Patent Office. The date that an abandoned application could normally no longer be reinstated. Correction of Dead Application The date that the dead status was reversed, usually to correct a situation where the application erroneously became dead. The date an application becomes a patent. The date that a re-examination certificate has been issued for a patent, with changes to the patent as originally issued. The date that a patent was reissued after the original patent was surrendered by the patentee. For patents that were filed on or after October 1,1989, the patent number remains the same as the original patent. For patents that were filed before October 1,1989, the patent reissues with a new number. In both cases the term of the patent remains the same as the original patent. A reissue can occur occasionally and under strict conditions, when a patentee surrenders what is believed to be a defective patent to the Patent Office in order to have the defect fixed. The surrendered patent undergoes further examination and may subsequently be re-allowed and reissued. On extremely rare occasions a patent document may have multiple reissued dates. This site displays only the last reissue date. In order to determine if the patent has been reissued more than once, the cover page Image of the patent must be accessed. The date the original patent was surrendered and no longer is in force. The date that the surrendered status was reversed, used exceptionally to correct a situation where the patent erroneously shows a surrendered status. The day at the end of which the patent term expired, pursuant to subsection 46(2) of the Patent Act, for failure to pay maintenance fees. (This applies only to patents issued after October 1, 1989.) The date that the lapsed status was reversed; usually to correct a situation where our records erroneously indicated that the patent was lapsed. In cases where all maintenance fees required by section 46 of the Patent Act were paid, the day at the end of which the patent term expired, pursuant to section 44 or 45 of the Patent Act. The date that the expired status was reversed; usually to correct a situation where our records erroneously indicated that the patent was expired. Maintenance Fees DefinitionsMaintenance fee information includes details of last payment and next payment associated with the processing as follows:
Notes: No maintenance fee status is provided for patents granted prior to October 1, 1989. For patent documents filed or granted from October 1, 1989, no maintenance fee status is provided if the patent document is no longer in force. The last maintenance fee payment that was made. If some of the maintenance fees are prepaid, only the last of the prepaid payments is shown. The date that the last maintenance fee payment was received in the Patent Office. The amount actually paid for the last payment. The next payment for either the small entity fee or the standard fee. The date that the next maintenance fee payment is due in the Patent Office. This is the prescribed amount due for the next maintenance fee payment (depending on whether or not the applicant/patentee is paying the standard fee or the small entity fee). Payment HistoryPayment history information includes Anniversary year of maintenance fee, Amount paid, Due and Paid date associated with the fee types as follows:
Note: The Canadian Patents Database does not provide the full payment history for granted patents or applications with numbers lower than 2198508. In such cases, the amount paid column will appear as "0.00" in the table. For full payment history, please contact CIPO. Money that was paid in excess according to CIPO's records. Fee required on completing an application. Corrective payment/Section 78.6 Voluntary corrective payment made to rectify fees paid prior to February 1st, 2006. Fee required when a disclaimer to a patent is submitted. Fee required when applying for an extension of time (before the expiry of the original time limit). Fee required when submitting additional pages that exceed the set limit as per the Tariff of Fees. Fee required on filing an application for a patent, which also includes the basic national fee. Filing an Amendment after allowance Fee required when submitting an amendment after allowance. Fee required on filing an application to reissue a patent. Fee required once the application has been found allowable. Late payment fee under ss.3.1(1) Fee required when there is a clear but unsuccessful attempt to pay a fee, after the expiry of the initial time limit. Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act Fee required to maintain in effect an application for a patent filed after October 1st, 1989. Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act Fee required to maintain the rights accorded by a patent filed after October 1st, 1989. Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act Fee required to maintain the rights accorded by a patent filed before October 1, 1989. Fee required when requesting re-examination of a claim or claims in a patent. Registration of a Court Judgement Fee required on requesting the registration of a Court judgment. Fee required on requesting the registration of a document for each patent or application to which the document relates Reinstatement - failure to complete Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Reinstatement - failure to make bona fide attempt Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Reinstatement - failure to pay final fee Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Reinstatement - failure to request examination Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Reinstatement - failure to respond to examiners report Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Reinstatement - failure to respond to file appeal Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Reinstatement - failure to respond to judgement pro tanto Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Reinstatement - failure to respond to office letter Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Reinstatement - failure to respond to pre-examination report Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Reinstatement - failure to submit pages Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Reinstatement - Non Maintenance Fees Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Reinstatement: Failure to Pay Application Maintenance Fees Fee required to reinstate an abandoned application. Fee required when requesting examination. Fee required on requesting a correction of a clerical error. Fee required on requesting the advance of an application for examination. The additional fee for late payment Additional fee required for late payment when entering PCT National Phase. Viewing Patent Document ImagesImages of the following patent documents are available on this site:
When viewing patent document images, the CIPO Canadian Patents Database will open up a new browser window for each patent document image. If you have requested all five image documents for a patent you will have six browser windows open; one for each image document, and one for the original window. Site AvailabilityThe site and the network have windows of planned general maintenance activities from Saturday at 6:00 p.m. to Sunday at 4:00 p.m. ET. During this period of time there may be disruptions to the image database or to the site. Database maintenance is performed each Saturday between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. ET. During this period of time images might not be available. Downloading CapabilitiesPatent images can be downloaded through standard browser interfaces in Adobe AcrobatTM PDF format. Acrobat Reader is available for free download from Adobe's Web site. Note: The PDF conversion of the patent document images is
limited to 300 pages; the subsequent pages are consequently not available on
the Web. The subsequent parts are available by
contacting us.
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