Need an issued patent fast? Go to Canada first, then turn onto the PPH

摘要

Technology transfer offices at U.S. universities can fast-track - and cut the cost of - patenting some innovations by launching prosecution in Canada first, according to a Toronto patent agent. The proposed strategy to speed up prosecution in the U.S. involves leveraging cheap or sometimes free expedited examination processes in Canada to quickly get an issued Canadian patent and then entering the Patent Prosecution Highway in the U.S. The benefits can include reducing the time to possession of a valid U.S. patent by half, as well as slashing about two-thirds off the cost. There are, of course, some restrictions. "There is currently a Green Technology Initiative in Canada that is open to any technology wherein 'commercialization of the technology will resolve or mitigate environmental impacts or conserve the natural environment and resources'" explains Erica Lowthers, PhD, a registered patent agent with Sim & McBurney, an IP practice in Toronto. While you do need to file a declaration stating that, she adds, it is "a fairly broad definition and encompasses many technologies."