What Happens to My Patent Application Then? Non-obviousness or inventiveness is determined by examining common general knowledge and the state of the pertinent technical art as a whole from the perspective of a person skilled in the art. And is it useful? If you want to know more about how to patent an idea in Canada, you should familiarize yourself with the requirements for obtaining a patent or retain a patent lawyer to assist with patent drafting and the patent application process. It might be a new may to manufacturing something, new food, chemical or pharmaceutical. Do You Need a Registered Patent Agent for Your Business? In some cases, a license may be required from the owner of the original invention to make and use the improved invention, in other cases not. An invention must be useful to be patentable.

Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. Your patent can also be an improvement over a product that already exists. A patent application may demonstrate the utility of the invention by, for example, describing working examples of the invention. How Canada ranks globally for entrepreneurs and other business news you can use, How interest rates affect small businesses in Canada, Utility (Does it actually work, and does it prove useful? So let's look at how to patent your idea in more detail.

A typical filing fee is around $8,000, though more complicated inventions can involve steeper fees into the $15,000 range.

U.S. case law has provided several factors that help determine what characteristics are embodied in the person of ordinary skill in the art. She has run an IT consulting firm and designed and presented courses on how to promote small businesses. In determining whether an invention is obvious, it is helpful to consider if it is more or less self-evident that what is being tried ought to work or if there are a finite number of identified and predictable solutions known to persons skilled in the art. When you invent a process or a product that you feel is worthwhile, you'll want to get a patent for it. Most of these are physical — products you can hold and touch. A patent is something that the Government of Canada or any other government grants to investors for a period which is usually 20 years. Consequently, improvements to existing machines or processes may be patented. For example, an enabling disclosure may occur if an invention can be understood through non-inventive means or reverse engineering from a previously sold product containing the invention. For a combination of pre-existing parts to be patentable, there must be a unitary result. In Canada, patents are granted by the federal government for inventions and offer exclusive rights for new or useful inventions. It is important to note that the Canadian enablement principle is different from that applied in the United States. Furthermore, the invention is required to be directed to a practical use, which must be controllable and reproducible. You need to show that the invention will have be unique. Some information in it may no longer be current. By using The Balance Small Business, you accept our. Now, we don’t want you to interpret this as us telling you to apply for your patent immediately, even if it means that your invention has not been fully sussed out.