So you’ve done your own trademark search (or have had a trademark agent do one for you) and have filed a trademark application. (See the previous page of this article for where to conduct a trademark search online and the basics of trademark registration, such as where to file a trademark application.)
Once the Trade-marks Office receives your trademark application, your application receives a filing date, and an application number from the Trade-marks Office, which then proceeds with a five-step examination process. You will receive a formal filing acknowledgement at this stage.
Meantime, the Trade-marks Office, as CIPO (the Canadian Intellectual Property Office) explains it:
1. Searches the trademarks records to find any other trade-mark that may come into conflict with the one you've submitted. If one is found, you will be informed.
2. Examines your trademark application to ensure that it complies with the requirements of the Trade-marks Act and Regulations and informs you of requirements which are not met by the application.
3. Publishes the application in the Trade-marks Journal, which is issued every Wednesday.
4. Allows time for opposition (challenges) to the application. Anyone may, upon payment of $750, file a statement of opposition with the Registrar. If there is opposition, the Registrar of the Trade-marks Office will consider the evidence filed by either or both parties, and decide whether or not to refuse your trademark application. In such a case, both parties are notified of the decision and reasons why.
5. Assuming there is no opposition to your trademark application, the mark is allowed. Upon payment of the $200 registration fee and the filing of a declaration of use in the case of a proposed use trademark application, your mark is registered and you will be issued a trademark registration certificate.
Note that trademark registration through the Trade-marks Office only protects your trademark rights in Canada. If you are selling wares or services in other countries, CIPO advises that you should register your trademark in each of those countries as well.
As you would guess from what you’ve read here, trademark registration can be a long process. In most cases, says the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, at least a year may elapse from the day the application is first filed until the day the registration certificate is issued.
You don’t have to wait until your trademark is registered to use it, though, and the rights granted by trademark registration are so much more powerful than those of unregistered trademark owners that trademark registration is definitely worth it.
