According to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, patents are ‘government grants’ that give inventors exclusive rights to their inventions. Simply put, a patent is a time-limited right that excludes others from making, using or selling an invention in the country that it is granted, during the life of the patent. As such, patents are recognized as incentives to encourage and foster development of products or processes that are novel, useful and inventive. Patents play a valuable role in agriculture and many other sectors as they contribute to our economy and society as a whole.
In Canada, patent protection exists for 20 years from the time the patent application is first filed. Over the course of the life of the patent, the inventor is required to make payments of ‘maintenance fees’ in order to keep the patent in force.2
2Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office website.