KTEP it moving: Canada fast-tracks patent examination for key technologies

In May, we published a bulletin examining the Canadian Intellectual Property Office's (CIPO’s) public consultation on current and proposed expedited patent examination programs in Canada. On September 2, CIPO took a step forward by launching the Key Technology Expedited Program (KTEP)¹, a pilot initiative that provides eligible applications with a faster pathway to patent examination in designated key technology areas at no additional cost.

What you need to know

• The KTEP pilot is a no-fee accelerated examination program for patent applications relating to key technology areas identified by the Commissioner of Patents.
• At launch, KTEP includes two streams: Stream 1 (Critical Minerals), which is currently open; and Stream 2 (Public Health Emergencies), which is currently closed and may be activated at the Commissioner's discretion.
  • Stream 1 is available for patent applications related to innovations that support Canada's critical minerals supply chain.
• CIPO will accept up to 50 eligible requests per stream per calendar year, on a first-come, first-served basis, and applicants whose requests are approved under KTEP will not pay for advanced examination.
• Concurrently, CIPO has retired its COVID-19 relief accelerated examination program.

The KTEP pilot

The new KTEP pilot, launched on September 2, 2026, is a CIPO-administered program which aims to expedite the examination process for applications in key technology areas. The applications are otherwise examined in accordance with the Patent Act and the Patent Rules, with guidance from CIPO's Manual of Patent Office Practice.

At launch, the KTEP pilot includes two streams:

Stream 1 – Critical Minerals (Open): Available for patent applications related to innovations that support Canada's critical minerals supply chain, including technologies used to process, extract, or refine minerals on Canada's critical minerals list².

Stream 2 – Public Health Emergencies (Closed): Reserved for patent applications relating to innovations that mitigate the impacts of a public health emergency. The Commissioner of Patents may activate this stream at their discretion when such an emergency is identified.

The KTEP eligibility requirements are summarized in our updated table of available expedited examination pathways below, which also reflects the concurrent retirement of the COVID-19 relief program.

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For applicants with patent applications directed to critical minerals technologies, the KTEP pilot offers a practical, no-fee pathway to accelerated examination with a 7-month target for a first Office Action.

While the broader range of key technology areas originally contemplated in the consultation of spring 2026 (including biomanufacturing, agrifood productivity, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, clean energy, and defence) have not been adopted as active KTEP streams, CIPO has indicated that additional streams may be introduced in the future.

The KTEP program supports CIPO's 2026–2031 Business Strategy and reflects opportunities identified through the Government of Canada's broader policy efforts to support critical minerals.

Summary of the 2026 consultation results

CIPO's spring 2026 consultation sought stakeholder feedback on CIPO's four existing accelerated examination pathways (including the now terminated COVID-19 relief pathway) and two proposed new programs: a fee-based "Ultra-Fast" Track 1 program, which would impose a defined timeline for examination rather than simply shortening individual steps in the process; and a no-fee program that would expedite examination of applications relating to key technology areas identified by the Government of Canada. According to the published results³, most respondents (80%) indicated that the existing suite of expedited programs did not fully meet industry needs, citing concerns about speed, flexibility, and predictability. Feedback on the proposed key technology area program was generally positive, with respondents viewing it as a useful addition, particularly if it could be expanded beyond a limited number of technology sectors, and if technology areas could be defined with sufficient clarity. Respondents also generally supported the concept of a fee-based Ultra-Fast Track 1 program, though concerns were raised about excessive fees and whether the proposed service commitment would be sufficiently faster than existing options.

The consultation was also informed by a written submission from the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) Patent Committee, which indicated that it was not particularly supportive of the two proposed expedited programs, suggesting instead that CIPO's efforts would be better directed towards improving examination times for regular and existing expedited examination programs—a concern driven in part by lengthy delays in Patent Branch operations since the launch of the MyCIPO Patents IT system in July 2024.

The proposed Track 1 Ultra-Fast Program has not yet been launched, and no further information on this program has been provided.