The length of time that it takes to obtain a trademark registration in Canada is longer than in many other countries in the world. The length of time from the filing of an application through to registration is currently around 18 months, assuming a smooth application with no major objections.

From the date of filing, it is currently taking the Canadian Intellectual Property Office between 11-12 months to examine an application. This is the bulk of the timeline for the application process and it can certainly be frustrating for brand owners to have such a long period to wait without knowing what objections they might face.

The Registrar will not consider requests for expedited examination because “the advancement of an application out of routine order creates a favoured position at the expense of all other applicants” (Trademarks Examination Manual) and because “examination generally occurs within six months of the date a trademark application is filed” (Practice Notice: Requests for Expedited Examination), even though this is no longer the case. Curiously, the Registrar does indeed examine some applications out of order, sometimes examining applications as little as two weeks after they have been filed. An example of this can be in the case of Registration No. TMA998980 for SPA STYLE, which was examined two weeks after filing, and which issued to registration in only 6 ½ months, months before other applications filed at the same time had even been examined.

Once a trademark application has been approved, it takes 4-6 weeks for the application to appear in the Canadian Trademarks Journal for the two month opposition period. Assuming that no oppositions are filed, the trademark application will then proceed to allowance in about 3 to 4 months.