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In our recent bulletin, IP Canada Report 2025 Released: Patterns in
Canadian Trademark Filings, we discussed the key patterns
in Canadian trademark filings noted in the IP Canada Report 2025
(the “Report”) released by the Canadian
Intellectual Property Office
(“CIPO”)1. In this bulletin,
we highlight the key trends and practical takeaways as it pertains
to patents.

Number of Overall Patent Applications Stabilize

In 2024, CIPO received a total of 35,374 patent applications,
4,304 of which were filings from Canadian residents and 31,070 of
which were filings from non-Canadian residents. This total
represents a 1% decline from the total number of patent application
filings received by CIPO in the previous year. CIPO attributes this
1% overall decline in 2024 to a 5% increase in patent applications
made by Canadian residents2 which offset the 1% decrease
in applications made by non-residents. CIPO states that such
changes are consistent with an ongoing trend over the past decade
in which the absolute number of applications filed by Canadian
residents have increased, while applications filed by non-Canadian
residents have decreased. Nevertheless, applications filed by
non-Canadian residents continue to represent the vast majority of
all patent filings in Canada.

Applications filed in Canada: Country of Origin

In 2024, patent applications filed by United States entities
accounted for 44% of all patent applications filed in Canada. Such
a proportion is significantly higher than the proportions of the
remaining top five countries of origin, which were Canada (12%),
Germany (5%), China (5%), the United Kingdom (4%) and France (4%).
With the exception of Canada, the number of patent applications
filed from the aforementioned top six countries of origin either
remained the same or decreased by a few percentage points.

Inbound International Applications: Use of the Patent
Cooperation Treaty

77% of all patent applications filed in Canada in 2024 were
filed using the Patent Cooperation Treaty
(“PCT”) system. CIPO notes that this is
a sharp 7 percentage point decline compared to the previous year,
which may be reflecting the overall increase in filings in Canada
made by Canadian applicants and the overall decrease in filings in
Canada made by international applicants.

During the pandemic years (2020-2022), the proportion of PCT
applications increased to up to 83%. CIPO observes that the decline
in 2024 may be reflecting an adjustment back to pre-pandemic
proportions.

Outbound Patent Applications

CIPO notes that the number of patent applications filed abroad
by Canadian residents have generally been stable over the past
decade, with the exception of a notable decrease in 2020. In 2023,
Canadian residents filed a total of 20,048 patent applications in
foreign intellectual property offices, which was 2% less than the
previous year.

The United States was the most popular international destination
for Canadian patent applicants in 2023, which received 61% of all
such applications. This was followed by the European Union (10%),
China (5%), Japan (4%) and Australia (3%). Notably, applications
from Canada to China decreased by 13% and those to Australia also
decreased by 14%. Read alongside the data for inbound international
applications, this data suggests that the United States remains the
most important jurisdiction for both inbound and outbound
international patent applications.

In 2023, just under 40% of Canadian patent applicants used the
PCT system when filing internationally. Such proportions are
consistent with the trends seen in the pre-pandemic era –
during 2021 and 2022, there was a temporary increase in PCT filings
to around 55%.

Practical Considerations for Filing Patent Applications in
Canada

Given the statistics in the Report, Canadian businesses should
consider the following:


Consider United States patent protection in their patent
protection strategy, as the United States remains the most popular
international jurisdiction for Canadian patent applicants.

Consider leveraging the PCT patent system for international
filings, given the large discrepancy between Canadian patent
applicants filing PCT applications (40%), and the number of
Canadian patent applications filed using the PCT system (77%).

Give proper consideration to the Canadian patent landscape,
both to ensure that innovations are being protected by Canadian
innovators and to understand the domestic competitive landscape,
given the increasing number of Canadian patent applications filed
by Canadian applicants.

Conclusion

The full IP Canada Report 2025 is available online
(pages 10-15 cover patents). McMillan LLP’s Intellectual Property Group is well equipped
to provide practical advice in navigating the latest trends in the
Canadian patent process.

Footnotes

1 CIPO is a special operating
agency of Innovation Science, and Economic Development Canada
(“ISED”), and is responsible for the
administration of intellectual property in Canada.

2 A resident
application refers to an application filed with the IP
office of, or acting for, the state or jurisdiction in which the
first named applicant in the application is resident.
“Glossary – IP Facts and Figures 2025”, World
Intellectual Property Office, available here.

The foregoing provides only an overview and does not
constitute legal advice. Readers are cautioned against making any
decisions based on this material alone. Rather, specific legal
advice should be obtained.

© McMillan LLP 2025