Shorter Processing Times Ahead - Changes to the Trademark Examination Process

Prior to 2020, the average processing time for a trademark application was about 12-18 months, and in some cases, in excess of 24 months. Since 2020 and the challenges that COVID-19 presented, those processing times increased dramatically, sometimes in excess of 24 months before examination of any sort would occur.

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office is now introducing measures to combat the ever increasing wait times. The full text of the Practice Notice can be found here.

Of particular note is the expedited process that is now available to applicants who use the “pre-approved” goods and services descriptions. If an applicant’s application contains only good and/or services from the “pre-approved” list, it will receive expedited examination. I foresee that choosing goods and services from the list will become the norm for most applications going forward, unless there is a very good reason not to do so.