Nearly 74 percent of Canadian inventions were filed in the United States, while 56 percent were filed in Canada and 25 percent with the European Patent Office (EPO). Most inventions (52 percent) are filed in only one location. In addition, only about 12 percent of patent applications filed in Canada are by Canadian inventors, suggesting that most patents are creating domestic monopoly power that can hurt consumers while having no impact on domestic innovation. This suggests that Canada’s relatively more selective patent granting process (about 40 percent of filings are granted) is preferable to a less selective IP regime like that in the US.
For more information about Canadian IP policy, see Curing Canada’s Innovation Ills and Where Do Canadians Patent? Implications for Canada’s Optimal Patent Regime.
