Trademarks

A. Overview

On average, it will cost you approximately $3,000.00 – $4,000.00 and take between 2-3 years to obtain registration of a verbal (text only) trademark in Canada. We spread this cost out over the course of the file. Complications during the application process, either from the trademark examiner or from third parties opposing your application can extend the length and cost of the registration. Costs for design marks (logos), hybrid marks, certification marks, or section 9 marks, or US applications, all vary – please contact us directly.

1. The first step is an initial search and opinion, along with confirmation of your wares and services. This is usually completed within a week to two weeks of your initial inquiry. We charge $700 in fees plus taxes and the cost of the search, totalling an average of $1,200.00 – $1,500.00.
2. Upon your review of our opinion and instructions to proceed, we prepare and file the application. The filing fees in Canada are indexed and approximately $480 for the first class and an additional $145 for every additional class. We charge $700.00 in fees plus taxes and disbursements, and an hourly rate if your description of goods and services is quite extensive or complex. More information on the US is found below, but US filing costs are more expensive and also depend on the number of classes in your application as well as the current exchange rates.
3. After filing the application, we will receive a filing receipt. We review this for accuracy and report to you.
4. You will then not hear from us for approximately 2-3 years. This is due to a large filing backlog with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. The examiner will review the application, and if there are no technical or substantial issues, the examiner will proceed to the next step. If there are issues, such as confusion with an existing trademark, these must be addressed. We charge an hourly rate for all objections and examiner’s reports. Our current hourly rate is $600.00 plus taxes and disbursements. We will bill you for any of these separately.
5. If there are no objections, or the objections are overcome, the examiner will issue a Notice of Approval, and publishes the trademark for potential opposition. We report the Notice of Approval to you. The process then takes another 3-4 months. Upon publication, we will review for accuracy and send you a copy along with your account for both steps, at $300.00 in fees plus taxes and disbursements.
6. If no opposition is raised at this stage, the Examiner allows the application to continue to registration. We report to you along with our letter and Certificate of Registration. We issue an account for $375.00 in fees, plus applicable taxes and disbursements. If the application is a US application, and is based on a corresponding Canadian application, it is either suspended until the Canadian application completes, or issues immediately to registration. For each US response to a suspension inquiry, we charge $150.00 in fees plus taxes and disbursements.

B. Foreign Registration

You gain priority on US and other foreign registrations within 6 months of your filing in Canada, which can be advantageous. The registration procedure in the US is similar to Canada, although the time frames can be slightly shorter. Registration in the US, if straightforward and requested at the same time as the Canadian search and opinion, will cost approximately $3,500.00 – $4,500.00 and follow roughly the same steps and costs on the previous page. Note however that substantive objections by the Examiner and oppositions may need to be handled by a US attorney. If that occurs your costs may increase substantially as US attorney fees are much higher than in Canada. Each additional class of registration will increase your cost by approximately $400USD, and this fee is duplicated at both the US search, filing, and all renewal steps. This can increase the cost of a US trademark dramatically. Higher costs also apply in the case of design marks (logos), hybrid marks, or special marks. Please contact us for a more accurate quote or for information regarding registration in any other jurisdictions.

C. Renewal

Your registration will also require to be renewed every 10 years in Canada and cost approximately $1400 for a single class. The renewal filing fee is indexed and approximately $580 for the first class and $180 for each additional class to which the request for renewal relates. Our legal fee for filing a renewal in Canada is $675, plus taxes and disbursements. If this is your first renewal post-2019, you will also need to file a classification of your goods and services. We charge an hourly rate for this (in most cases where you do not have a complex or lengthy list of goods and services, these can be handled for an approximate fee of around $600 total).

In the US, there are two separate renewal steps, one after 5 years, and one after every 10 years post-registration. US renewal costs also increase based on the number of classes (between US$225.00 to US$525.00 per class). Our fee for filing a renewal in the US is $675, plus taxes and disbursements.

While we docket your renewal dates and strive to contact you according to the last contact information you have provided to us, we require your instructions to proceed with the renewal. It remains your responsibility to contact us. If you do not update your contact information with us and we are unable to reach you, and/or you fail to provide us with instructions, we take no responsibility for registrations which are abandoned for failure to file renewals or maintenance filings. You should always update us with current contact information.