Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Canada

Patenting Process

If you are not the first person to file a patent application for your invention, you will not be protected in any country outside the US. Indeed, the right to a patent lies with the first person to FILE a patent application and NOT with the first inventor. In the US it is the opposite.

However, your invention must be at least at a stage where the "how it will be made" has been at least thought trough on paper.

Therefore it is preferable to file your patent application as soon as reasonably possible to do. You need to at least have drawings/sketches of your proposed invention and a written description of how it will work. In the meantime, you should have a secrecy undertaking by anyone to whom you intend to disclose your idea BEFORE you disclose it.

To the extent your idea relates to patentable subject matter, that it is new and non-obvious, it could be patentable. We will not be able to answer you until we understand what it is.

I recommend that:

1. You complete your reading of the patenting process description you will find at : http://www.brouillette.ca/brouillette/expertise/domaine/view.do?id=583bffad07df258c0107dfc6b6640049

2. You carry out a quick patent search on the Google.com/Patents, USPTO.gov and ESPACENET.com sites. See: http://www.brouillette.ca/brouillette/ressources/guide/groupe.do?id=583bffad07df258c0107df6d34560011

for these and other useful sites.

3. You should also carry out a quick regular Google search to see what is actually available on the market.

4. You call us to discuss the costs for drafting and filing (anywhere between $2,500 and $7,000) and the next steps.

Sincerely yours,

Robert Brouillette

514-397-6900