Federal Patents, Licences and Royalties Survey (FPLR)

This survey collects data to ensure the availability of pertinent statistical information to monitor 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. The information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.


Collection period:

From November 28, 2022 to January 13, 2023


Collection methods:

Excel questionnaire sent through the Electronic File Transfer System (EFTS)


Survey participation:

Mandatory under the Statistics Act

Confidentiality

Data are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19.

By law, Statistics Canada is prohibited from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent, or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada will use the information from this survey for statistical purposes only.

Data sharing agreements and record linkage

Data sharing agreements

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 linkage

To enhance the data from this survey and to reduce the response burden, Statistics Canada may combine the information you provide with data from other surveys or administrative sources.

Topics covered in the survey

The survey asks questions about:

  • number of patents
  • licences
  • and revenues from royalties

Published data

Statistics Canada publishes the results of its surveys in many formats. To find all the documents related to this survey, follow the links below and type the name of the survey in the search engine located at the left of your screen to filter the results.

Data: You will find tables, profiles of a community or region, thematic maps, public use microdata files, and data visualization tools.

Analysis: You will have direct access to Stats in brief (e.g., releases from The Daily, fact sheets), articles and reports, and journals and periodicals.

For more information about this survey