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Green Patent Programs Worldwide – Expedited Examination for Patent Applications Related to “Green Technology” in Canada.

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Colleen N. Shovlin of Harness IP and Roni M. Jones of Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala LLP

With the January 28, 2025 termination of the Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program (CCMPP), applicants for US patent protection have lost an important option for cost-effective prioritized examination of certain “green” patent applications. However, other options for prioritized examination of “green” patent applications remain throughout the world. This post is part of a series of posts exploring options for prioritized treatment of “green” patent applications in various jurisdictions outside the US.

Under Canada’s Advanced Examination process, upon request, patent applications for green technology can be advanced out of turn and processed faster at no additional cost.[i] A patent application relates to “green technology” if it either helps resolve or mitigate environmental impacts or conserves the natural environment and resources. In line with Canada’s broader sustainability initiatives, the scope of what is considered “green technology” by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CPIO) appears to be interpreted favorably to applicant’s who request Advanced Examination on this basis.

To take advantage of Canada’s Advanced Examination process for green technologies, a patent applicant must:[ii]

  • Request examination of their application;
  • Pay the standard examination fee;
  • Submit a request for Advanced Examination, including:
    • a statement that the application relates to technology “the commercialization of which would help to resolve or mitigate environmental impacts or conserve the natural environment and natural resources.”
    • No additional fee is required.
  • Ensure the application is open to public inspection.
    • Because a request for Advanced Examination of an application related to green technology can only be granted if the application is open to public inspection, an applicant must request an early laid open date if the application has not yet been published.

The CIPO has taken the position that it will not question the veracity or appropriateness of the required statement.[iii] Notably, the applicant need only repeat the statement verbatim in their request to the CIPO and need not provide any rationale or reasoning in support thereof. This approach seems to give applicants significant leeway in claiming that their applications relate to green technology.

Prosecution timelines under Canada’s Advanced Examination process.

Once an application is approved for Advanced Examination, the application is assigned a higher examination priority and the CIPO commits to issuing a first office action within 3 months; by comparison, standard times for receiving a first office action typically range from 14 to 24 months in Canada. As a result, a patent can be granted in Canada under the Advanced Examination process in as little as 12 months from the start of examination, as compared to just over 30 months for regular applications.

Applicants are required to maintain the expeditiousness of the Advanced Examination process.

Applications will be removed from Canada’s Advanced Examination process and returned to the regular order of examination if the applicant (1) requests an extension of time to reply to an office action, or (2) abandons the prosecution process.

Examples of applications examined under Canada’s Advanced Examination process for green technologies.

To date, 947 patents have been granted using Canada’s Advanced Examination process for green technologies. A list of patent applications and granted patents filed under Canada’s Advanced Examination process for green technologies can be found by searching the Canadian Patents Database and selecting “Green Technology Granted Date” from the drop down for “Date Type.”

Benefits for US Applicants.

Applicants wishing to speed up examination of their US applications without paying the prioritized examination fee[iv] may benefit from Canada’s Advanced Examination process by filing a corresponding application in Canada. Once the CIPO indicates that claims in the Canadian application are allowable, the applicant can petition to make their US application special under the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) and can amend the claims of their US application to match the allowed claims in Canada. A US application that is made special under the PPH will be advanced out of turn for examination and will continue to be treated as special throughout the entire examination process.[v]

As of October 2025, the pendency of US applications made special under the PPH is based on technology area, with the USPTO targeting a pendency for PPH applications of approximately half the time of non-PPH applications in the same technology area.[vi]

Even if an applicant does not pursue examination under the PPH in the US, Canada’s Advanced Examination process can provide US applicants with a better understanding of the closest prior art to their inventions. This knowledge can be used to guide Applicants claim amendments early on in the examination process, which may help reduce the overall duration of prosecution.

Alternatively, applicants who would like a search performed in the US or another patent office before examination in Canada can file an international (PCT) application designating the US or other patent office as their International Search Authority (ISA). Once the applicant receives a favorable written opinion from the ISA, the applicant can enter the national stage in Canada and request examination via the Advanced Examination process for green technolo

[i] Advanced examination for green technologies.

[ii] Id.; see also CIPO Manual of Patent Office Practice (MOPOP) 11.03.02.

[iii] MOPOP 11.03.02.

[iv] The current fee for prioritized examination at the USPTO is $4,515 as of Mar. 1, 2026. USPTO fee schedule.

[v] MPEP § 708.02(VI).

[vi] Update to Patent Prosecution Highway Docketing.