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ARTICLE · 29 MARCH 2022

Between Two INTA Meetings – Developments In Canadian Trademark Prosecution Practice Over The Last Three Years

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At the 141st annual meeting of INTA in Boston in May 2019, the talk among Canadian trademark practitioners was the amendments to the Trademarks Act, which were coming into force on June 17, 2019 (CIF).

CanadaIntellectual Property
Jennifer McKenzie
Jennifer McKenzie
Mark Davis
Mark Davis
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At the 141st annual meeting of INTA in Boston in May 2019, the talk among Canadian trademark practitioners was the amendments to the Trademarks Act,  which were coming into force on June 17, 2019 (CIF). Among the notable amendments was Canada's adoption of the Nice classification system and Canada becoming a contracting party to the Madrid Protocol. As many trademark practitioners (happily) prepare to reconvene in Washington D.C. in May 2022 for the INTA annual meeting, we look back on the past three years and summarize some developments.

CIPO Backlog.  No doubt what is on everyone's mind is the examination backlog at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), which has been compounded since CIF. Statistics show that it can now take more than 3 years to first examination for a national application, and the full 18 months to examine international applications designating Canada. CIPO is taking a number of steps to shorten this timeline.

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