Overview
Canada has been a popular jurisdiction for patent filings because of its close relationship with the United States and reasonable filing fees. Previously, there were no fees payable based on the number of claims in a Canadian patent application, making it a relatively easy decision to file an application in Canada with a large number of claims. However, new Canadian Patent Rules, effective October 3, 2022, introduced an excess claim fee structure that requires applicants and attorneys to proceed strategically if they are keen on keeping fees down.
Under the new fee regime, excess claims fees will be payable twice during prosecution. First, CAD $100 is payable for each claim over 20 claims when the examination is requested. Second, when the issue fee is paid, CAD $100 is payable for each claim over 20 claims, based on the greatest number of claims that are pending at any time between requesting examination until the final issue fee payment. These excess claims fees apply only to applications for which examination is requested on or after October 3, 2022.
