New Ventures BC link
Innovate Calgary link
North Forge, Manitoba link
IP Assist, NRC IRAP link
What is the difference between a patent agent, a patent attorney and a patent lawyer? Click here
From France, an extremely useful tool for obtaining acceptable copies of scientific papers for Information Disclosure Forms...
There are numerous examples of NDAs on the web.
One year priority right - Within one year from first filing a patent application, patents can be applied for in other countries.
One year grace period - Within one year from first disclosing an invention to the public, or using an invention in public, patents can be applied for in the US, Canada and Australia. Japan has a 6 month grace period. Europe and many other countries don't have a grace period, and so you can lose your right to file in some countries if you make use of the grace period in others.
One year on-sale bar - A US patent cannot be applied for more than one year after an invention is sold, even though it may be a private sale or the details of the invention may be hidden. In Canada, only sales that reveal details of the patent application would count, even though reverse engineering may be required.
One year provisional - A provisional patent application expires one year after filing, but within that year further patent applications may be made that claim priority from it.
For utility patents, it is 20 years from the filing date of a non-provisional application, or 20 years from the international filing date of a PCT application. This means that if a provisional patent application is filed first, or priority is claimed from another national patent application, the patent term may expire up to 21 years from the priority date.
There are over 150 countries party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
Notable exceptions are Argentina and Taiwan.