OTTAWA — Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is considering a plan to fast-track applications for AI, quantum, energy and critical mineral patents in a bid to boost investments in those key sectors. 

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) pitched the concept in September of targeting industries the government has highlighted as priorities, according to a briefing note The Logic obtained through an access-to-information request. Joly had requested ideas from the office before the Liberal government tabled its budget, which announced plans to “harness” Canada’s strength in energy, critical minerals, AI and quantum technology.

The patent office already offers a free fast-track treatment for greentech inventions intended to protect the environment. Other applicants can pay a relatively small $744 fee to access the same priority processing. “Fast-track examination options may reduce overall patent pendency to the grant of a patent, reduce uncertainty for clients, and support timelier investment decisions,” said Philip Jennings, the deputy minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, in the memo.

Canada trails peer countries like the Netherlands and Switzerland when it comes to patent applications overall, but an analysis of data by the Conference Board of Canada suggests it is lagging in AI in particular.

In a statement, ISED spokesperson Riyadh Nazerally said the patent office is talking to stakeholders and refining the idea. “CIPO remains committed to transparency and will share updates publicly as determinations are reached,” he said.

The quicker turnaround for applications in greentech has helped some clients in that sector, said Jason Hynes, a patent lawyer with Smart & Biggar and president of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada. “It was a good thing from the clients’ perspective financially,” he said in an interview. “It was a good thing to pitch to their investors.”

Still, Smart & Biggar lawyers Brigide Mattar and Audrey Berteau noted in a 2024 analysis that the greentech industry underused its expedited application program. Archived government data suggests that, by 2022, 545 patents were approved through the process for green technology inventions since the program started in 2011—relatively few considering the office granted 19,525 patents in the 2021-22 year alone.

“It’s another tool that these particular sectors can use to save a bit of money and put their cases in front of examiners faster,” Hynes said. It’s not likely to revolutionize the patent process, though, or have a material impact on the number of patents filed in those new industries under consideration, he said. 

That’s also true of the patent office’s other plan to encourage innovation by adopting a “provisional” patent system similar to that of the U.S., he said. The idea is that academics who are about to give a lecture, or startups planning to present a prototype at a trade show, can get a cheap, preliminary form of protection for their inventions while they prepare their formal patent applications. 

At a conference CIPO hosted in Ottawa in November, former BlackBerry co-CEO Jim Balsillie championed the idea as a way to encourage firms to file for their patents in Canada first. In the September memo, the patent office anticipated provisional patents would be well received by inventors and businesses, but said it would take a legislative change and four or five years to implement. The office would also need to make some IT changes and hire more staff. 

Hynes, however, described the model as “a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.” Because of the integrated nature of the North American market, most clients will want to file in the U.S., he said, which will give them the protection of that country’s “battle-tested” provisional system. If they really want to apply in Canada, they can always file an incomplete patent application, which has roughly the same effect as a provisional patent, he said. “I struggle to understand where the benefit is.”

CIPO’s plans are part of a government-wide effort to cut red tape and make federal services more affordable and efficient, with shorter processing times. The agency said in the memo that it plans to explore using AI tools to ease the administrative burden on examiners and free them up to focus on more complex cases. 

“Ultimately, these initiatives will create a more dynamic innovation ecosystem, driving economic growth and competitiveness,” the department said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.