Trademarks – Finding a Path Through the Historic Backlog at Canadian Examination
Posted on March 21, 2022
By: Trisha Dore and Karin Binder
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has recently implemented measures to improve timeliness in examination, and to deal with the unprecedented backlog created by a number of contributing factors. These include higher than anticipated filings since Canada’s accession to the Madrid Protocol for the international filing of trademarks, and the implementation of the new Trademarks Act in the summer of 2019. Currently, the Canadian Trademarks Office is reviewing applications filed in the first quarter of 2019.
Applications using pre-approved goods and services will be examined more quickly.
CIPO has advised that applications using goods and/or services from the pre-approved list of goods and services maintained by the Canadian Trademarks Office will be examined 12-15 months faster. As such, we are identifying applications of our clients that may be voluntarily amended to select only pre-approved terms in order to shorten their queue in examination.
Should you have any questions, or if you wish us to review your trademark portfolio to see whether you are eligible to take advantage of these measures, please contact our Trademark Services Group led by Trisha Dore.