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m (External links: , plus an [http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4034/135/ article by Michael Geist])
(External links: * [http://www.slaw.ca/2013/05/15/patentable-subject-matter-new-notices-from-canadian-patent-office-anticipated-issues-for-the-court/ Patentable Subject Matter – New Notices From C)
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Software patents, according to [[patent lawyer]] Eugene Derényi, are widely available in Canada since a 1981 court decision "Schlumberger Canada Ltd. v. Commissioner of Patents".<ref name="stikeman">http://www.stikeman.com/SoftwareCopyright_Patent_Derenyi_07.pdf</ref>
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{{navbox}}
  
Subsequent court cases allowing software patents include:
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==Legislation==
* Re Motorola Inc. Patent Application No. 2,085,228
 
* Re Motorola Inc. Patent Application No. 2,047,731
 
  
Software ideas are excluded "[[per se]]", but this limit is trivially circumvented because these patents were allowed because they were claimed together with a storage medium.
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Canada's patent legislation is a federal law called the ''Patent Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-4''. The most up-to-date version should always be available from the federal Justice Department's Website at this address:
  
Since 2005, the non-legally-binding Manual Of Patent Office Practice (of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office) talks of "computer-implemented inventions" and says "''an act or series of acts performed by some physical agent upon some physical object and producing in such object some change either of character or condition''" and "''it must produce an essentially economic result in relation to trade, industry or commerce''".<ref name="stikeman" />
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* http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/P-4/index.html<ref>The law is also available in French at: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/fra/P-4/index.html</ref>
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The Web site of the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) allows to see recent revisions of the law, regulations adopted under the law, and even search legal cases with reference to this law:
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* http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-p-4/
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=== Relative to software ===
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Subsection 27(8) of the ''Patent Act'' reads: "No patent shall be granted for any mere scientific principle or abstract theorem."[http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-p-4/latest/rsc-1985-c-p-4.html]
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Software or computer programs are prohibited ''[[per se]]'' ("as such") in virtue of this subsection. However, this exclusion has been trivially circumvented by claiming patentability of "statutory subject matter" (any "invention" defined under section 2) to which software was integrated. "Computer-implemented inventions"<ref>Manual of Patent Office Practice, c.16 revised February 18, 2005.</ref> may be patented and have been patented.
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===Definition of "invention"===
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As quoted in [[Amazon v. Commissioner for Patents (2010, Canada)]], the Patent Act says:
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<blockquote>
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2. In this Act, except as otherwise provided, [...]<br />
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[...]<br />
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“invention”<br />
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« invention »<br />
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<br />
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“invention” means any new and useful art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement in any art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter;
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</blockquote>
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== International Agreements or Conventions ==
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The following international Agreements or Conventions apply to Canada<ref name="cameron9">Donald M. Cameron. ''Patents for computer-implemented inventions and business methods'', p. 9</ref>:
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* 1883 - The Paris Convention
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* 1947 - General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) [today World Trade Organization (WTO)]
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* 1978 - Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT)
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* 1994 - North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
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==Case law==
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{{also|Amazon ruling by Canadian Federal Court on 14 October 2010}}
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==Patent office decisions==
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Since 2005, the Canadian patent office's non-legally-binding ''Manual of Patent Office Practice'' talks of "computer-implemented inventions" and says "''an act or series of acts performed by some physical agent upon some physical object and producing in such object some change either of character or condition''" and "''it must produce an essentially economic result in relation to trade, industry or commerce''".<ref name="stikeman">http://www.stikeman.com/SoftwareCopyright_Patent_Derenyi_07.pdf</ref>
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{{also|Canadian patent courts and appeals}}
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==Related pages on {{SITENAME}}==
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* [[Canadian patent courts and appeals]]
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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* http://www.opic.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/home - Canada's patent office
 
* [http://www.jurisdiction.com/dmc0003.htm Software Patents In Canada, Japan and Europe], section 3(d) talks of the 1981 Schlumberger case
 
* [http://www.jurisdiction.com/dmc0003.htm Software Patents In Canada, Japan and Europe], section 3(d) talks of the 1981 Schlumberger case
* [http://www.stikeman.com/SoftwareCopyright_Patent_Derenyi_07.pdf Software copyright and software patents], by Eugene Derényi, Stikeman Elliott LLP
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* [http://www.jurisdiction.com/spcanada.htm Software-Related Patents: Canada]
* 2009: [http://www.p2pnet.net/story/22381 Canadian Patent Appeal Board rejects business method patents], plus an [http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4034/135/ article by Michael Geist]
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* [http://www.jurisdiction.com/campat.htm Cameron’s Canadian Patent and Trade Secrets Law]
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* [http://www.stikeman.com/SoftwareCopyright_Patent_Derenyi_07.pdf Software copyright and software patents], by '''Eugene Derényi''', Stikeman Elliott LLP
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* [http://www.p2pnet.net/story/22381 Canadian Patent Appeal Board rejects business method patents], plus an [http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4034/135/ article by Michael Geist], 2009
 
* [http://www.flora.ca/patent2003/ Flora 2003 report on software patents in Canada]
 
* [http://www.flora.ca/patent2003/ Flora 2003 report on software patents in Canada]
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* [[AIPLA]]: [http://www.aipla.org/html/Patent-Handbook/countries/canada/CAsoftware.html About software and business method patents in Canada]
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* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_patent_law Canadian patent law], '''Wikipedia'''
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* [http://iposgoode.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/contextualizing-the-software-patent-debate-in-canada-conrad-seaman.doc Canada's software patent problem]
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* [http://cestepatent.wordpress.com/ C'est é-p@tent! - A bilingual blog of interest to patent practitioners in Quebec and Canada]
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* [http://www.slaw.ca/2013/05/15/patentable-subject-matter-new-notices-from-canadian-patent-office-anticipated-issues-for-the-court/ Patentable Subject Matter – New Notices From Canadian Patent Office, Anticipated Issues for the Court?], 15 May 2013, '''slaw.ca'''
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
<references />
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{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Region or jurisdiction]]
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{{footer}}
[[Category:Country and regional info]]
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[[Category:Countries and regions]]
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[[Category:Canada]]

Revision as of 06:37, 16 May 2013


Legislation

Canada's patent legislation is a federal law called the Patent Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-4. The most up-to-date version should always be available from the federal Justice Department's Website at this address:

The Web site of the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) allows to see recent revisions of the law, regulations adopted under the law, and even search legal cases with reference to this law:

Relative to software

Subsection 27(8) of the Patent Act reads: "No patent shall be granted for any mere scientific principle or abstract theorem."[1]

Software or computer programs are prohibited per se ("as such") in virtue of this subsection. However, this exclusion has been trivially circumvented by claiming patentability of "statutory subject matter" (any "invention" defined under section 2) to which software was integrated. "Computer-implemented inventions"[2] may be patented and have been patented.

Definition of "invention"

As quoted in Amazon v. Commissioner for Patents (2010, Canada), the Patent Act says:

2. In this Act, except as otherwise provided, [...]
[...]
“invention”
« invention »

“invention” means any new and useful art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement in any art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter;

International Agreements or Conventions

The following international Agreements or Conventions apply to Canada[3]:

  • 1883 - The Paris Convention
  • 1947 - General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) [today World Trade Organization (WTO)]
  • 1978 - Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT)
  • 1994 - North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Case law

See also: Amazon ruling by Canadian Federal Court on 14 October 2010

Patent office decisions

Since 2005, the Canadian patent office's non-legally-binding Manual of Patent Office Practice talks of "computer-implemented inventions" and says "an act or series of acts performed by some physical agent upon some physical object and producing in such object some change either of character or condition" and "it must produce an essentially economic result in relation to trade, industry or commerce".[4]

See also: Canadian patent courts and appeals

Related pages on ESP Wiki

External links

References

  1. The law is also available in French at: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/fra/P-4/index.html
  2. Manual of Patent Office Practice, c.16 revised February 18, 2005.
  3. Donald M. Cameron. Patents for computer-implemented inventions and business methods, p. 9
  4. http://www.stikeman.com/SoftwareCopyright_Patent_Derenyi_07.pdf