Patents can be considered as a contract between the government and an inventor, whereby the inventor receives legal protection for an invention while the government gets full disclosure of what the invention is and how it works. The patent system is intended to stimulate economic growth by providing incentives to inventors while also providing critical technological information to others in society. In Canada, patents are valid for a term of up to 20 years from the filing date of the patent application, provided the appropriate maintenance fees are paid. During this period, a patentee can prevent others from making, using, selling, renting or importing the protected invention. However, if the patented invention is an improvement on another patented invention, then the first patentee does not have the right to use his own invention unless a licensing agreement is struck or the other patent is lapsed or voided.
Canadian patents are only valid in Canada.
As well, foreign patents do not afford any protection in Canada. However, inventors often obtain patents for the same invention in many countries around the world so the existence of a foreign patent may signal the existence of a similar Canadian patent and vice-versa. During the period in which a patent application is laid-open but not issued into a patent, the applicant cannot enforce his rights. However, after the application issues to patent, the patentee can sue back to the laid-open date for compensation from any party who infringed during that time. IPC First one in list is primary classification.