First-to-file System
In Canada, since October 1, 1989, generally speaking, patents are granted to the first inventor to file an application for an invention (that is, Canada has a "first-to-file" system), which may result in a "race to the patent office" by inventors of competing technologies (see "First to file and first to invent").
In some cases (referred to below under the heading Requesting an Earlier Filing Date), an application may effectively receive an earlier filing date, to improve the chances of an applicant winning the "race to the patent office".
Read more about this topic: Canadian Patent Law
Famous quotes containing the word system:
“Nobody is glad in the gladness of another, and our system is one of war, of an injurious superiority. Every child of the Saxon race is educated to wish to be first. It is our system; and a man comes to measure his greatness by the regrets, envies, and hatreds of his competitors.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)