GI-2024-20-reg1: Regulations Amending the Patent Rules and Certain Regulations Made Under the Patent Act

If you hold a Canadian patent that was filed on or after December 1, 2020, and took more than five years from filing (or three years from your examination request, whichever is later) to be granted, you can now apply for extra patent protection time — but you'll need to pay $2,500 (or $1,000 if you qualify as a small entity with under 100 employees) to apply, plus $1,000 per year ($400 for small entities) in maintenance fees to keep that extended protection alive. About 1,129 applications for additional terms are expected over the next decade, with roughly 9% coming from Canadian-based patent holders. Pharmaceutical companies in particular face additional paperwork obligations, as they must now update patent expiry dates submitted to Health Canada and the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board to reflect any extended terms. Smaller innovators and startups holding patents get a discounted fee structure at 40% of standard rates, though the government estimates only about 2.5% of all additional term applications will come from Canadian small entities.