Trademark Registration in Canada

Online trademark registration in Canada

Canada is one of the countries that have joined the Madrid System for the Trademark Registration. You can get protection for your trademark here by national registration or by applying for international registration under the Madrid Protocol. If we talk about national registration, the application is filed with the country's patent office – The Canadian Intellectual Property Office. The trademark types in Canada are slightly different from other countries. The national procedure has a number of features, which we will discuss below.

Trademark types in Canada.

How do you register a trademark logo in Canada? As a trademark, you can register not just the usual verbal or graphic signs in Canada. An ordinary trademark includes words, designs, mode of packaging, moving images, tastes, textures, three-dimensional shapes, holograms, colours, sounds, scents, or a combination of them. You can get protection for these types of trademarks:

• An ordinary mark.
• Certification mark.
• Distinguishing guise.

The first type is an Ordinary mark. This type is the most habitual and common. It implies the ability to register a trademark consisting of letters, images, as well as their combination.

The second type is a Certification mark. This type implies the registration of the production method and quality relative to a particular product. This type of registration is used in order to show to the consumers the conformity of the produced or sold goods to certain standards.

The third one is Distinguishing guise. The appearance of the products can be protected as such a trademark. For example, packaging or product form.

If you do not know which type of trademark is suitable for your product or service, contact our experts.

Limitations and features of trademark registration in Canada.

There are some restrictions in the country concerning that what you can register. First of all, these are trademarks that are similar to the extent of confusion with those already registered. Descriptive signs and signs that may mislead people are also unavailable for registration. To obtain protection of the name and/or surname, it will be necessary to prove to the examination that the goods or services have acquired distinctive ability under these designations. And the name itself or surname has acquired additional meaning for consumers.

Various state emblems - official government designs, coats of arms, flags and insignia of the Armed Forces, emblems and names of the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, and the United Nations, armorial bearings (coats of arms), flags and symbols of other countries are generally unregistrable.

You cannot register a trademark that indicates the geographical origin of a wine, spirit, or agricultural product or food unless your goods are from that geographical area. You can`t register a trademark that describes the geographical location where the goods or services come from. Besides, you may not register a word that misleads people into thinking that the goods or services come from a certain place when they do not.

You may not register trademarks that are the name, in any language, of the goods or services associated with your trademark. For example, you cannot register the word " poulet" (“chicken” in French) in association with chicken fillet.

Another feature concerns owners. Only one individual can claim designation rights. If there is a need to share ownership between several people, then they will certainly have to create a joint venture. Registration will be made at this enterprise.

Search the Canadian Trademarks Database

It would be useful to make a search of existing trademarks to check whether your trademark could be confusing with someone else's. You do not have to do it, but it will help you know whether similar trademarks exist. You can check it through the Canadian Trademarks Database. It covers trademarks (active and inactive), official and prohibited marks. As soon as the Registrar receives your application, it too becomes part of the public record. To do a proper search, you will have to check for different possible versions of the trademark that you want to register. For a standard character trademark (word or words), you should look for all possible spellings, including in French.

A complete application includes:

• the name and mailing address of the applicant
• the representation or description, or both, of the trademark
• the statement of the goods and services associated with the trademark
• the statement of goods and services grouped according to the Nice Classification
• the application fee
• any other specific requirements

You have to file a separate application for each trademark that you want to register. However, one application can cover a number of goods or services for a given trademark.

How long does it take to register a trademark in Canada?

The standard procedure without objections from third parties takes about 24 months. And this in case of the correct execution of all documents. The benefit of filing an application through Profitmark international patent agency lies precisely in the competence of our experts. All documents will be drawn up correctly, which will reduce the registration term of your trademark.

Trademark registration fee in Canada for the first class of goods or services: $CDN 336.60. For each additional class: $CDN 102.00

To maintain your registration, you will have to pay a renewal fee every 10 years.

How much does it cost to renew a trademark in Canada?

For the first class of goods or services to which the request for renewal relates: $CDN 408.00

Profitmark International Patent Office experts are competent in the field of trademark registration and will help to register a trademark in Canada. We will help you to choose the type of trademark, to find the grounds for its registration and to file the correct documents. Just fill out the online form to start the procedure.

Canada trademark registration process

Registering a trademark in Canada with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) gives you an exclusive right to use of this mark for a period of 10 years, renewable indefinitely.

Flowchart of Normal Registration Process

Canada trademark registration renewal

The US Trademark Office sets dates for submitting the correct renewal documentation. Make sure you follow these guidelines:

• In order to prove that you are continuously using your trademark during the fifth and sixth years after registration, you must submit at least a section 8 declaration.
• In order to stop third parties from contesting your trademark on a variety of grounds, you can file a section 15 declaration of incontestability during the fifth and sixth years of registration.

If you decide to register a trademark in Canada - just file an online application!