Trademarks

A. Overview

On average, it will cost you approximately $3,000 – $4,000 and take between one to two years to obtain registration of a trademark in Canada or the US. 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 the US, for design marks, hybrid marks, certification marks, or section 9 marks will 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 $675 in fees plus taxes and the cost of the search, totalling on average of $1,100 – $1,500.
2. Upon your review of our opinion and instructions to proceed, we prepare and file the application. The filing fee in Canada is $250, and we charge $500 in fees plus taxes and disbursements. US filing costs are more expensive and depend on the number of classes in your application as well as the current exchange rate.
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 6-8 months. 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. My current hourly rate is $400 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 months. Upon publication, we will review for accuracy and send you a copy along with your account for both steps, at $300 in fees plus taxes and disbursements.
6. If no opposition is raised at this stage, the Examiner allows the application to continue and issues a Notice of Allowance. We report to you along with our letter seeking instructions on the next steps, and prepare you a Declaration of Use for your signature. We also issue an account in of $150 in fees plus 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 response to a suspension inquiry, we charge $150 in fees plus taxes and disbursements.
7. Once you use the trademark in commerce, you are able to sign the declaration of use that we will prepare, and submit the final registration fee of $200. We charge $375 in fees in fees plus taxes and disbursements to complete your registration. You should receive a certificate of registration in 2-3 months after completion.

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 $3,000 – $4,000 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. Note also that US registrations follow a class-based system and there is an increased cost based on the number of “classes” or categories of wares and services associated with your mark. Each additional class of registration will increase your cost by approximately $375USD, 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. 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 15 years in Canada, and in the US, two separate steps, one after 5 years, and one after every 10 years post-registration. Each renewal step will cost you approximately $750.00. US renewal costs increase based on number of classes (see above). 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.

Should you have further questions, please contact us.