New USPTO Rules Will Affect Canadian Innovators Not Represented By A Patent Attorney Or Patent Agent

Beginning July 20, 2026, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will require patent applicants and owners who reside outside of the United States to be represented by a registered U.S. patent practitioner.¹ The rule may affect foreign filers, including Canadian inventors and corporate patent applicants who opt to file and prosecute a U.S. patent application themselves without a patent agent.

What’s changing?

Until now, inventors or corporate applicants residing outside the U.S. were able to file and prosecute U.S. patent applications without appointing a registered patent practitioner. In brief, under the new rules, foreign applicants can still file the application without the assistance of a registered patent practitioner but will be unable to further prosecute the application (e.g. respond to an office action).² Notably, this does not change the requirements for receiving a filing date. When the new rules take effect, applications filed by a foreign resident without the signature of a registered patent practitioner will still be accorded a filing date but may require corrective action.

The change in rules will affect those having a “permanent legal place of residence” or a “principal place of business” outside of the U.S. Even U.S. citizens who are residing outside of the U.S. are subject to the new rules.

The USPTO permits foreign patent agents to be registered as U.S. patent agents (and thus as “registered patent practitioners”) for the limited purpose of representing applicants in their home countries in matters before the USPTO. Therefore, this change will not affect a Canadian applicant who is represented before the USPTO by a Canadian patent agent registered with the USPTO.

Comparison to the Canadian rules for representation by a patent agent

The new U.S. rules require any foreign inventor or corporate patent applicant to be represented by a registered patent practitioner. In contrast, the Canadian rules do not differentiate based on the domicile of the applicant, with requirements for appointment of patent agents being based solely on whether the applicant is the inventor versus, e.g., a corporate assignee. Applicants in Canada are required to appoint a patent agent to represent them if:

1. the application is filed by a person other than the inventor;
2. there is more than one inventor and the application is not filed jointly by all of them; or
3. a transfer (i.e. an assignment), in whole or in part, of the application has been recorded in the Patent Office.³

Thus, where the applicant(s) are the inventor(s), they are not required to appoint a patent agent to represent them in Canada, regardless of whether they are located in Canada, in the U.S., or elsewhere. Similarly, any applicant(s) falling under one of the three enumerated categories above must appoint a patent agent to represent them, even if they are located in Canada. However, similar to the U.S., any applicant may file the application and pay the filing fee, regardless of whether the appointment of a patent agent is required.⁴

Key takeaways

Although the U.S. system was previously more lenient for unrepresented (i.e. pro se) applicants, the new rules impose strict requirements for applicants domiciled in countries outside the U.S. In contrast, the Canadian system permits inventors to file and prosecute their own applications, regardless of place of residence or business, whereas all corporate applicants must appoint a Canadian patent agent. Canadian applicants who use U.S. or Canadian patent agents to represent them in front of the USPTO will likely be unaffected by this change.

Footnotes

1. U.S. Counsel Rule for Patent Applications and Patents

2. Required Use by Foreign Applicants and Patent Owners of a Patent Practitioner

3. Subsection 27(2) of the Patent Rules

4. See, e.g. Manual of Patent Office Practice (MOPOP), Chapter 5, Section 5.07.02k

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