The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has been
experiencing significant backlog in trademark applications to be
examined. Examination of pending trademark applications has taken
over 4 years from the filing date, unless all the goods and
services recited in the application are found in the pre-approved
list published by CIPO.
Currently, examination of domestic trademark applications using
the pre-approved list of goods and services is around eighteen
months. However, the pre-approved listing is not comprehensive for
all classes. Therefore, it is not always the case that an
application can be amended to obtain acceleration without narrowing
the goods and services.
Recently, Anil Bhole, Managing Principal of Bhole IP Law, was
among a delegation for FICPI Canada that met with various members
of CIPO including the Registrar and the Director of the Trademarks
and Industrial Designs Branch, during which CIPO has indicated that
they have recently hired a
