Why You Should Act Now To Protect Your Intellectual Property In Canada

Significant amendments to Canada's Trademarks Act (the "Act") have been passed, but are not yet in effect. The legislative changes are rumored to come into effect sometime in early 2018, which – if filed soon - may be sufficient time to allow an application to proceed to registration.

We believe there are several benefits to Canadian business owners applying now:

1) Lower Application and Registration Fees

Applications under the new regime will require goods and services to be divided into Nice classification categories. Canada currently has a one-time filing fee of $250 and a one-time registration fee of $200 - irrespective of the numbers of international classes. It is unknown whether "per class" fees will be introduced under the new legislation – but it seems likely.