Patent Examination Times by Classification

The following classification is the first classification for published patents/applications as used by CIPO and described by WIPO.

Time (in years) is measured from the request for examination to issuance for patents issued in a given year.

Classification 2002 2007
Time (years) Sample Size Time (years) Sample Size % change
A61- MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE 4.1 1370 4.6 2590 12.2
C07- ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 4.2 988 5.1 1172 21.4
H04- ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE 3.7 1034 4.4 1143 18.9
B65- CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL 4.2 369 3.9 831 -7.1
G01- MEASURING 3.7 609 4.2 723 13.5
C12- BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING 4.6 517 6.4 626 39.1
E21- EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING 3.8 159 3.7 605 -2.6
C08- ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON 4.4 567 4.9 595 11.4
F16- ENGINEERING ELEMENTS OR UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL 3.7 287 4.0 523 8.1
B01- PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL 3.7 301 4.0 522 8.1
A01- AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING 3.5 298 4.0 456 14.3
H01- BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS 3.4 584 4.2 427 23.5
B60- VEHICLES IN GENERAL 3.5 243 3.5 381 0.0
G06- COMPUTING; CALCULATING; COUNTING 3.4 425 4.5 366 32.4
A47- FURNITURE 3.5 192 3.8 332 8.6
B29- WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL 3.0 177 3.8 300 26.7
C09- DYES; PAINTS; POLISHES; NATURAL RESINS; ADHESIVES; MISCELLANEOUS COMPOSITIONS; MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS 4.2 153 4.6 288 9.5
G02- OPTICS 3.9 207 4.1 253 5.1
E04- BUILDING 3.3 147 3.9 246 18.2
D21- PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE 4.7 78 4.8 226 2.1
B23- MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 3.1 86 3.5 210 12.9
H02- GENERATION, CONVERSION, OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER 3.2 151 3.7 193 15.6
C10- PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT 3.6 83 4.5 151 25.0
A63- SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS 4.3 52 3.6 148 -16.3
A23- FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; THEIR TREATMENT, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES 3.8 184 4.4 143 15.8
F02- COMBUSTION ENGINES 3.2 65 3.5 140 9.4
C11- ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES 3.8 112 5.1 135 34.2
B32- LAYERED PRODUCTS 4.2 123 4.3 134 2.4
B62- LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS 3.3 64 3.7 133 12.1
E01- CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES 3.0 36 4.0 125 33.3
F24- HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING 3.7 57 3.5 123 -5.4
B41- PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS 4.6 86 3.9 118 -15.2
F01- MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL 3.9 79 4.2 110 7.7
G05- CONTROLLING; REGULATING 2.7 44 3.6 106 33.3
B21- MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL 3.5 60 3.7 105 5.7
C04- CEMENTS; CONCRETE; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES 4.2 61 4.7 105 11.9
C23- COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL 4.1 56 4.4 102 7.3
F25- REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION OR SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES 3.4 83 3.8 102 11.8
C22- METALLURGY 4.2 97 4.8 101 14.3
F04- POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS 3.3 76 4.0 100 21.2
E05- LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES 3.2 53 3.5 99 9.4
G09- EDUCATING; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS 4.1 64 4.3 98 4.9
B63- SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT 3.8 36 3.9 98 2.6
E02- HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL-SHIFTING 3.5 58 3.5 97 0.0
F23- COMBUSTION APPARATUS; COMBUSTION PROCESSES 3.9 31 4.9 96 25.6
E06- DOORS, WINDOWS, SHUTTERS, OR ROLLER BLINDS, IN GENERAL; LADDERS 2.9 46 3.3 96 13.8
B64- AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS 4.1 21 3.8 93 -7.3
B05- SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING LIQUIDS OR OTHER FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL 4.3 63 5.0 92 16.3
C01- INORGANIC CHEMISTRY 3.6 84 4.3 92 19.4
H03- BASIC ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY 3.1 83 4.1 91 32.3
B22- CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY 4.3 63 4.5 89 4.7
C02- TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE 3.8 73 4.7 87 23.7
D06- TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 3.7 55 3.9 86 5.4
B27- WORKING OR PRESERVING WOOD OR SIMILAR MATERIAL; NAILING OR STAPLING MACHINES IN GENERAL 3.2 44 3.5 81 9.4
B25- HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; HANDLES FOR HAND IMPLEMENTS; WORKSHOP EQUIPMENT; MANIPULATORS 3.1 36 4.0 79 29.0
H05- ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 3.6 105 3.9 77 8.3
B61- RAILWAYS 3.4 68 3.5 74 2.9
C03- GLASS; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL 4.1 68 4.6 70 12.2
G11- INFORMATION STORAGE 2.5 102 3.7 65 48.0
F21- LIGHTING 2.8 47 3.5 64 25.0
A62- LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING 4.0 23 4.2 63 5.0
E03- WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE 4.0 15 3.4 58 -15.0
F41- WEAPONS 4.0 22 3.5 57 -12.5
D04- BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS 3.6 20 3.8 56 5.6
G07- CHECKING-DEVICES 4.1 76 4.0 55 -2.4
B66- HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING 3.7 33 3.9 54 5.4
F42- AMMUNITION; BLASTING 3.1 15 3.6 53 16.1
G03- PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY 3.4 96 4.3 47 26.5
B26- HAND CUTTING TOOLS; CUTTING; SEVERING 3.5 41 3.5 46 0.0
G10- MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS 4.0 77 4.5 45 12.5
F17- STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS 3.3 19 3.4 43 3.0
C25- ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR 4.4 21 4.7 43 6.8
A41- WEARING APPAREL 3.9 8 3.9 42 0.0
B67- OPENING OR CLOSING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING 3.6 49 3.8 42 5.6
B42- BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER 3.0 14 3.9 41 30.0
F03- MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS 3.6 8 3.5 40 -2.8
G08- SIGNALLING 2.5 70 4.1 40 64.0
A43- FOOTWEAR 3.3 17 4.2 39 27.3
B07- SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING 3.7 27 3.2 39 -13.5
B24- GRINDING; POLISHING 4.0 23 3.7 37 -7.5
A21- BAKING; EDIBLE DOUGHS 3.9 15 3.2 35 -17.9
A45- HAND OR TRAVELLING ARTICLES 3.6 24 4.5 34 25.0
F28- HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL 4.5 13 4.0 34 -11.1
B02- CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING; PREPARATORY TREATMENT OF GRAIN FOR MILLING 3.8 11 3.5 31 -7.9
F26- DRYING 3.0 13 3.7 29 23.3
C21- METALLURGY OF IRON 3.7 22 4.8 27 29.7
B31- MAKING PAPER ARTICLES; WORKING PAPER 2.9 25 3.8 27 31.0
A24- TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SMOKERS’ REQUISITES 3.9 11 4.4 27 12.8
C05- FERTILISERS; MANUFACTURE THEREOF 3.4 9 3.8 26 11.8
A22- BUTCHERING; MEAT TREATMENT; PROCESSING POULTRY OR FISH 3.2 10 3.3 26 3.1
B08- CLEANING 3.9 14 4.9 26 25.6
A42- HEADWEAR 2.4 2 4.0 22 66.7
F15- FLUID-PRESSURE ACTUATORS; HYDRAULICS OR PNEUMATICS IN GENERAL 3.3 10 3.6 21 9.1
B04- CENTRIFUGAL APPARATUS OR MACHINES FOR CARRYING-OUT PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES 3.2 4 4.2 21 31.2
B44- DECORATIVE ARTS 3.7 9 4.1 20 10.8
F27- FURNACES; KILNS; OVENS; RETORTS 3.8 12 3.8 20 0.0
D03- WEAVING 3.0 2 3.9 20 30.0
F22- STEAM GENERATION 5.2 4 3.7 19 -28.8
A46- BRUSHWARE 4.1 14 3.9 19 -4.9
B30- PRESSES 4.4 15 4.0 19 -9.1
D01- NATURAL OR ARTIFICIAL THREADS OR FIBRES; SPINNING 3.5 28 3.9 18 11.4
B43- WRITING OR DRAWING IMPLEMENTS; BUREAU ACCESSORIES 3.5 13 3.5 18 0.0
B03- SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS USING LIQUIDS OR USING PNEUMATIC TABLES OR JIGS; MAGNETIC OR ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS FROM SOLID MATERIALS OR FLUIDS; SEPARATION BY HIGH-VOLTAGE ELECTRIC FIELDS 3.3 23 4.4 16 33.3
G21- NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING 3.2 14 4.4 16 37.5
A44- HABERDASHERY; JEWELLERY 2.9 9 3.5 14 20.7
D02- YARNS; MECHANICAL FINISHING OF YARNS OR ROPES; WARPING OR BEAMING 4.8 1 3.7 14 -22.9
B28- WORKING CEMENT, CLAY, OR STONE 2.5 10 3.2 13 28.0
B09- DISPOSAL OF SOLID WASTE; RECLAMATION OF CONTAMINATED SOIL 4.1 9 3.1 12 -24.4
B68- SADDLERY; UPHOLSTERY 2.0 1 3.7 9 85.0
C06- EXPLOSIVES; MATCHES 3.5 10 4.4 8 25.7
D07- ROPES; CABLES OTHER THAN ELECTRIC - 0 3.4 8
C30- CRYSTAL GROWTH 3.5 7 4.4 7 25.7
C13- SUGAR INDUSTRY 4.5 4 5.0 5 11.1
G04- HOROLOGY 3.1 5 4.1 5 32.3
D05- SEWING; EMBROIDERING; TUFTING 4.9 3 4.4 4 -10.2
B06- GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS IN GENERAL 3.9 2 4.5 3 15.4
C14- SKINS; HIDES; PELTS; LEATHER 3.5 1 3.7 2 5.7
B82- NANO-TECHNOLOGY [7] - 0 4.2 1
G12- INSTRUMENT DETAILS 4.3 3 - 0