Required To Obtain a Filing Date
- Name and address of applicant.
- Trademark, including a drawing in the case of a design mark.
- Description of wares and/or services.
The date of first use or making known in Canada (if application based on use or making known in Canada).
If application is based on use and registration abroad, to ensure initial application is complete:
- details (serial number, date, and wares and/or services) of foreign registration or pending application, and
- wares and/or services used abroad if not as broad as the wares and/or services covered by the foreign registration/application.
Required To Complete Application
With respect to the following, there is no time limit for completion, but if not enclosed at the time of filing, a request will be made in the first office action:
In the case of a design mark, one formal drawing in black and white no larger than 2 3/4" x 2 3/4" showing the mark as used. We can prepare formal drawings upon receipt of a clear copy (paper or electronic) of the mark.
If the application is based on use and registration abroad, a certified copy of the foreign registration relied upon, together with a translation into English or French.
Convention Priority
A claim to convention priority must be made at the time the application is filed, and the country and filing date must be given. The serial number of the foreign application will be required, but it can be submitted later. A certified copy of the priority application is not normally required unless the Registrar asks for it.
Notes
1. Execution of Application
It is not necessary to have the trademark application executed by the applicant, or to file any other document signed by the applicant. We can sign the application as agents of the applicant and can prepare, sign, and file the application on the basis of information supplied.
2. Wares and Services
There is no classification system in Canada, and a single trademark application may include any number of wares and/or services. However, before the application will be accepted, the wares and/or services included must be defined specifically in ordinary commercial terms. The application may be amended after filing to limit the wares and/or services, but not to extend them.
3. Basis For Application
The application may be based upon:
- Use in Canada
- proposed use in Canada
- making known in Canada, or
- use and registration abroad.
Two or more of these bases may be relied upon, except that both use in Canada and proposed use in Canada may not be relied upon in the same application for the same wares or services.
When the application is based on proposed use, priority is obtained as of the filing date, but the mark must be used in Canada and a declaration of use filed before the application will issue to registration.
When the application is based on use or making known in Canada, the date of first use or making known must be given on filing. This information cannot be added later by amendment.
An application based on use and registration abroad may be filed before the foreign application issues to registration, but the Canadian application will not be accepted for advertisement until the foreign application issues to registration and a certified copy thereof, together with a translation into English or French, is filed.
The application may be properly based on use and registration abroad only where the mark has been used abroad before advertisement of the trademark application in Canada.
Full Registrability Search
A search of the Canadian Register of Trade-marks, corporate/company names, trading styles, and common law sources including telephone and trade directories, domain name registers, and Internet searches.
Register Search
A search of the Canadian Trade-marks Register which covers Canadian registered trademarks and pending applications. Marks which are in use in Canada but are not the subject of trademark applications/registrations will not be revealed in the search. A further search of company names, trading styles, telephone and trade directories is recommended in order to better assess the availability of the mark.
Preliminary Search
The objective of this type of search is to determine relatively quickly and inexpensively if the exact mark is on the Canadian Trade-marks Register database. The failure to locate a conflicting mark does not necessarily mean that the mark is available for registration or use. More exhaustive searches are required to clear the mark for registration and use.
