Fast-Tracking Your Patent Application In Canada: CIPO Expands The Key Technology Expedited Program

For Canadian innovators, the patenting process can seem unreasonably slow. In an effort to address this, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) created various procedures to expedite the examination process in Canada. Knowing which fast track options exist, when they make sense, and how to use them effectively can provide a significant commercial advantage.

Canadian patent applicants have several routes to expedite examination before CIPO. The most commonly used is the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), which allows accelerated examination where a corresponding application has received a favourable examination in a participating foreign patent office. Applicants may also request a special order for advanced examination by submitting a statement that a delay in examination is likely to prejudice the applicant’s rights. A third route is advanced examination for green technologies, which is available where the invention relates to technology whose commercialization would help