The guidelines are actually pretty clear and the Canadian Patent Office mostly follows those. You will generally not be able to get a patent for a piece of software per se, although it is not very hard to attach it to a physical process to make it patentable subject matter. Any experienced patent prosecutor/attorney will be able to draft something that is acceptable to the patent office.
The Amazon 1-Click patent, for example, was held to be valid because the software and algorithms were attached to a physical system (of collecting and storing customer information along with an automated process of inventory gathering to shipping).
Most patent lawyers here in Canada are of the opinion that software _can_ be patentable, and that the trend is towards patentability. The main difference between US and Canada is not their respective Patent Acts (which are fairly similar), but the attitude of both the Patent Office and the courts in dealing with these things. It seems that the USPTO very easily accepts software patents, while Canadian patent examiners seem to be a little more strict on the requirements set out regarding software. Indeed, the Amazon 1-Click case arose in Canada because the patent office _rejected_ Amazon's patent, rather than the other way around as it seems more common in US.
Comments
The guidelines are actually pretty clear and the Canadian Patent Office mostly follows those. You will generally not be able to get a patent for a piece of software per se, although it is not very hard to attach it to a physical process to make it patentable subject matter. Any experienced patent prosecutor/attorney will be able to draft something that is acceptable to the patent office.
The Amazon 1-Click patent, for example, was held to be valid because the software and algorithms were attached to a physical system (of collecting and storing customer information along with an automated process of inventory gathering to shipping).
Most patent lawyers here in Canada are of the opinion that software _can_ be patentable, and that the trend is towards patentability. The main difference between US and Canada is not their respective Patent Acts (which are fairly similar), but the attitude of both the Patent Office and the courts in dealing with these things. It seems that the USPTO very easily accepts software patents, while Canadian patent examiners seem to be a little more strict on the requirements set out regarding software. Indeed, the Amazon 1-Click case arose in Canada because the patent office _rejected_ Amazon's patent, rather than the other way around as it seems more common in US.