Federal Patents, Licences and Royalties Survey 2021-2022

Information for respondents

This information is collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19.

Completion of this questionnaire is a legal requirement under this act.

Survey Objective

This survey collects information that is necessary for monitoring federal patent, royalty and licensing related activities in Canada, and to support the development of science and technology policy. The data collected will be used by federal science policy analysts. Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.

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Data sharing agreement

To reduce response burden and to ensure more uniform statistics, Statistics Canada has entered into an agreement under Section 12 of the Statistics Act with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and National Research Council Canada (NRC) for sharing information from this survey. ISED and NRC have agreed to keep the information confidential and use it only for statistical purposes.

Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with ISED and NRC by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician, specifying the organizations with which you do not want Statistics Canada to share your data and returning it with the completed questionnaire.

Record linkages

To enhance the data from this survey and to minimize the reporting burden, Statistics Canada may combine it with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

I hereby authorize Statistics Canada to disclose any or all portions of the data supplied on this questionnaire that could identify this department.

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Section 1 - Identifying Intellectual Property (IP)

1.1 Reports and disclosures

Please indicate the number of new instances of Intellectual Property reported or disclosed during the reference year 2021/2022.

Please indicate how many instances of Intellectual Property (not necessarily new) resulted in protection activity by this organization and how many were declined for protection by this organization.

The types of Intellectual Property are defined in the Respondent Guide, Section 4.1.1.

In this question, the number of new IP reports and disclosures and the number of IP reports and disclosures (resulting in protection activity and / or declined for protection) are asked for the following categories:

  • Inventions
  • Copyrightable IP (computer software, databases, educational material, other material)
  • Industrial designs
  • Trademarks
  • Integrated circuit topographies
  • New plant varieties
  • Know-how
  • Other (please specify):

Section 2 - Protecting Intellectual Property (IP)

2.1 Patents

2.1 a) During reference year 2021/2022, how many initiating and follow-on patents were applied for and how many patents were issued with the support of this organization? Initiating patent applications include provisional or first filings.

Follow-on patent applications include any that claim priority from an initiating patent application.

International (for example, Patent Cooperation Treaty applications, PCT) and regional applications (e.g., European Patent Office applications) should be counted as single applications.

In this question, the number of New patent applications (Initiating, Follow-on, and Total) and Total patents issued are requested.

2.1 b) Patents held, commercialized and pending

In this question, the Total number are asked of each of the following categories:

  • Total patents held (including patents issued during the reference year)
  • Total patents pending
  • Patents (held or pending) licensed, assigned or otherwise commercialized during the reference year

Section 3 - Licences

3.1 New and active licences

Please report the number of new licences executed during the reference year 2021/2022 and the number of active licences at the end of the reference year 2021/2022. If detailed figures are not available, please report totals in the appropriate cells. Please see the Respondent Guide, Section 4.3.1, for detailed definitions.

In this question, the number of exclusive or sole licence, Non-exclusive or multiple licences, and total are asked of each of the following categories:

  1. New licences executed with Canadian licensees
  2. New licences executed with foreign licensees
    Total new licence (a + b)
  3. Active licences executed with Canadian licensees
  4. Active licences executed with foreign licensees
    Total active licences (c + d)

3.2 Income received from IP

Please specify the nature of the income received during the reference year 2021/2022 from IP commercialization.

In this question, Income received from IP commercialization (in thousands of Canadian dollars) are asked for the following:

  • Running royalties and milestones payments
  • One-time sale of IP (in exchange for a single payment or several payments)
  • Reimbursement of patent, legal and related costs
  • Licence income received from another Canadian institution under a revenue sharing agreement
  • Other (please specify):
  • Other (please specify):
  • Total income received from IP commercialization

Section 4 - Respondent Guide

This questionnaire, in general, covers the intellectual property generated from R&D activities. We acknowledge that commercializable IP arises from other activities as well and that it may be difficult to differentiate. Whenever possible, please report figures for IP generated from R&D activities. If this is not possible, please note that the figures include IP generated from non-R&D activities.

If exact numbers are not readily available, please provide estimates with a note indicating this.

Please do not leave any question blank. Enter zero responses with the digit «0» if the value is known to be zero. If the data are not available, enter «N/A». In cases where the question is not applicable, please indicate this.

Report all dollar amounts in thousands of Canadian dollars.

Notes on survey questions

1.1 Identifying IP – Reports and disclosures:

  • Invention: Includes any new and useful art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement in any art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter (Public Servants Inventions Act. R.S., c. P-31, s. 1.). Some inventions are patentable in some jurisdictions but not in others: these include novel genetically-engineered life forms, new microbial life forms, methods of medical treatment and computer software.
  • Copyrightable IP can be broken into the following:
    • Computer software or databases: As noted above, computer software can be patented but normally it is protected by copyright. Databases may also be copyrighted.
    • Educational materials: This category includes special materials that may be copyrighted but are not necessarily in the form of printed books. This could include broadcast lessons, Internet pages, booklets, posters or computer files, among others.
    • Other material: This category includes any copyrightable works other than computer software and databases and special educational materials such as literary, artistic, dramatic or musical works, books, and papers.
  • Industrial designs: These are original shapes, patterns or ornamentations applied to a manufactured article. Industrial designs are protected by registration with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
  • Trademarks: These are words, symbols, designs, or combinations thereof used to distinguish your wares or services from someone else's. Trademarks are registered with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
  • Integrated circuit topographies: This is a three-dimensional configuration of the electronic circuits used in microchips and semiconductor chips. Integrated circuit topographies can be protected by registration with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
  • New plant varieties: Certain plant varieties that are new, different, uniform and stable may be protected by registration with the Plant Breeders' Rights Office, Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
  • Know-how: This is practical knowledge, technique or expertise. For example, certain information is codified in the patent application but a researcher's know-how could be valuable for commercial optimization of the product. Know-how can be licensed independently of the terms of a related patent.

2.1 Patents:

  • Initiating patent applications include provisional or first filings.
  • Follow-on patent applications include any that claim priority from an initiating patent application.
  • Patents pending: A label sometimes affixed to new products informing others that the inventor has applied for a patent and that legal protection from infringement (including retroactive rights) may be forthcoming.

3.1 New and active licences:

  • "New licences executed" refers to the completion of an agreement with a client to use the institution's intellectual property for a fee or other consideration (such as equity in the company).
  • "Exclusive or Sole licences" refers to agreements allowing only one client the right to use the intellectual property.
  • "Exclusive licence" refers to one granted that is exclusive for a territory, for a field of use worldwide or otherwise. Hence, there may be multiple exclusive licences for a single patent.

3.2 Income received is in thousands of Canadian dollars:

  • Running royalties are those based on the sale of products.
  • Milestone payments are those made by a licensee at predetermined points in the commercialization process.
  • One time sales of IP includes income from assignments to commercial exploiters.
  • Other income received from IP: For example, if a potential licensee contributes the funds to apply for the patent, this could be considered another source of income. Please list all items whether or not figures are available.

Contact Person

Name of the contact person who completed this questionnaire:

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