“Official marks” are a unique feature of Canadian trademark law. Many trademark owners, even in Canada, are unaware of official marks. Those who are aware, are often unclear about the rights provided and the options available...more
Earlier in the year, the Canadian Trademarks Office announced new measures intended to improve delays in the processing of trademark applications. With the time to examination for national applications exceeding three years...more
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games officially kick-off today. Taking place a year later than scheduled as a result of the pandemic, and amid no small amount of controversy, the Games will look a little different than...more
It is a fundamental principle of trademark law that no business should be able to prevent others from using apt language to accurately describe their goods and services. For this reason, clearly descriptive trademarks are...more
Until just a few years ago, most Canadian brand owners doing business abroad had limited options for protecting their trademarks outside of Canada. They were obliged to file separate applications in each country of interest,...more
On Monday, May 3, 2021, the Canadian Trademarks Office published two new Practice Notices with respect to Requests for expedited examination and Measures to improve timeliness in examination intended to improve delays in the...more
Until last year, most Canadian brand owners doing business abroad had limited options for protecting their trademarks outside of Canada. They were obliged to file separate applications in each country of interest, except in...more
If you filed a Madrid application on behalf of your client, and designated Canada, you should have received a “Courtesy Letter” from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) advising you as follows...more
12/9/2019
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Best Practices ,
Canada ,
Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) ,
Client Communication ,
Foreign Trademark ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Madrid Protocol ,
Trademark Agents ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademarks ,
WIPO ,
Written Notice
As trade talks between Canada and the United States dominate the headlines, it is hard to ignore the strong economic ties between these neighbouring nations. For example, the total volume of goods exported from the U.S. in to...more
6/1/2018
/ Canada ,
Corporate Branding ,
Descriptive Trademarks ,
Disclaimers ,
Goods or Services ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Harmonization ,
Madrid Protocol ,
Nice Classification ,
Popular ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Renewal Applications ,
Trademark Specimen ,
Trademarks ,
Use in Commerce
In the wake of the 2014 announcement that the Canadian Trademarks Act would undergo significant overhaul, there was much speculation about how the changes would impact the behaviour of those filing trademark applications in...more