Overview

If you've developed an invention as part of your CWSF project and are thinking about filing a patent, there are some important things to know about public disclosure and how participating in a STEM fair, including the Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF), affects your patent rights.

Note: This article provides general information and does not constitute legal advice. Patent laws vary by country, and requirements may differ significantly outside Canada. If you are considering filing a patent in any country other than Canada, seek professional legal advice before your first public disclosure.

What Counts as Public Disclosure?

In patent law, public disclosure means any event or action that makes information about your invention available to the public. For CWSF participants, public disclosure often occurs before the national fair, as most finalists present their projects at school, district, and regional STEM fairs.

• Displaying your project at a STEM fair (school, district, regional, or CWSF), including your physical display and ProjectBoard
• Publishing information about your invention online, including on ProjectBoard
• Presenting at conferences, fairs, or meetings
• Selling or offering the invention for sale
• Making the invention available for public use in any way

Your date of first public disclosure is the earliest date on which your project was made publicly available in any of these ways (not just at CWSF or on ProjectBoard).

Canada's One-Year Grace Period

Canada provides a one-year grace period from the date of first public disclosure by the applicant (or by someone who obtained knowledge from the applicant). This means you have up to 12 months from that date to file a Canadian patent application without your own disclosure being used against you.

If you do not file within that 12-month window, you may lose the right to patent your invention in Canada.

Hiding Your ProjectBoard Project

You can request that YSC hide your ProjectBoard project from public view by submitting a support request through the Help Centre. However, hiding your project does not change your date of first public disclosure. The clock starts when your project is first made publicly available, and that date remains unchanged even if the project is later hidden.

What You Should Do

If you're planning to file a patent on an invention from your project, the most important step is to act quickly. Consider speaking with a patent professional or contacting the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) as soon as possible to understand your options and deadlines.

Still have questions?

If you have questions not covered here, submit a support request through the Help Centre and we'll do our best to help or point you in the right direction.