Canada

Apply for a patent
Apply for an industrial design (equivalent to a U.S. design patent)
Apply for a trademark

Canada is a party to various intellectual property (IP) treaties and a member state of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In addition, its national IP office, the Canadian IP Office (CIPO), participates in various worksharing and other cooperative programs with the USPTO. Below you will find helpful resources with information about Canada’s participation in these treaties and programs.

Treaties that help facilitate IP filings

Paris Convention (possibility of securing “priority” for overseas IP filings)

Under certain conditions and on fulfilling certain requirements, an application for patent, trademark, or design filed in Canada may be entitled to the benefit of the filing date of a prior application filed in the United States. See CIPO's Requests for Priority webpage for further information. A claim for benefit of a trademark or design application must be made within six months of the U.S. filing date. A claim for benefit of a patent application must be made within 12 months of the U.S. filing date. See CIPO's Requests for Priority webpage for further information regarding requesting priority.

Patent Cooperation Treaty (international patent applications)

Canada, like other Contracting States, has particular requirements for obtaining a patent in its territory through the PCT. For example, appointment of an agent is required if the applicant is not the inventor. If the appointed agent does not reside in Canada, the agent is required to appoint an agent who resides in Canada to be the associate agent. For more information, see CIPO's PCT Kit or the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) National Phase PCT Applicant's Guide for Canada.

Hague Agreement (international design patent applications)

Canada is a Contracting State to the Hague Agreement. The Hague Agreement offers the possibility of obtaining protection for up to 100 industrial designs in designated member countries and intergovernmental organizations by filing a single international application in a single language. For more information, see CIPO's IP roadmap – Your path to international industrial design registration under the Hague Agreement.

Madrid Protocol (international trademark applications)

A trademark owner may be able to use its USPTO trademark application or registration as the basis for obtaining trademark protection in Canada through the Madrid Protocol. Visit WIPO to file an international application. For more information, see the CIPO's International Trademarks under the Madrid Protocol (see the "Filing into Canada" tab) webpage.

Worksharing and other cooperative arrangements

Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) (accelerated prosecution)

The USPTO participates with the CIPO in the Global Patent Prosecution Highway. When an applicant receives a final ruling from the USPTO that at least one claim is allowed, the applicant can request fast track examination of corresponding claim(s) in a corresponding patent application that is pending at CIPO, and vice-versa. To request accelerated prosecution of a Canadian patent application based on an allowable claim at the USPTO or another IP office, visit CIPO's PPH webpage.

Priority Document Exchange (electronic transmission of certain filing documents)

The USPTO and the CIPO participate in WIPO Digital Access Service (DAS), which allows the free, electronic transmission of certain filing documents between IP offices. For more information about CIPO’s participation in WIPO DAS, visit CIPO's announcement of its participation.

Global Dossier (display of information about patent applications in multiple countries)

Global Dossier is a tool that allows applicants to view information, at a single location, about patent “family” member applications that are pending in different IP offices. Canadian patent application search and examination documents can be viewed through Global Dossier. See the USPTO's Global Dossier webpage for more information.

TM5 ID List (harmonized multi-country list of descriptions of goods and services)

One critical component of any application to register a trademark is the identification of goods and services (the “ID”). The ID enumerates the goods and/or services on which, or in connection with which, that trademark is used. Trademark offices in different countries may have different standards as to which sorts of IDs are acceptable for inclusion in an application. As a result, trademark owners who want to obtain protection for the same trademark in multiple countries potentially have to create unique IDs for each of them. To lessen that burden, the USPTO leads an ongoing effort, in cooperation with its counterparts in the Trademark Five or “TM5” forum, including the CIPO, to maintain a pre-written “pick list” of IDs (the TM5 ID List) that will be accepted in the trademark offices of numerous countries, including CIPO. IDs that are included in the TM5 ID List have a “T” in the TM5 column in the USPTO's Trademark ID Manual.

Learn more

Use the below interactive map to learn more about IP protection in the highlighted countries/regions.