In December 2020, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) began granting requests for expedited trademark examination for COVID-related services and goods. Due to the two to three year wait to receive an examination action, CIPO is now accepting requests for expedited treatment of trademark applications for additional circumstances.

Affidavit or statutory declaration requests are being considered for the following additional circumstances:

1. Court proceedings for trademark infringement are expected or pending in Canada;
2. The applicant is trying to stop counterfeit services or products at the Canadian border;
3. The applicant is experiencing significant problems in online marketplaces; or
4. The applicant needs to protect its time-sensitive CIPO application date for a priority application date claim in foreign trademark applications.

For companies in the United States, circumstances one through three may be applicable. There is no government fee associated with a request for expedited examination. 

If the request is accepted, CIPO will examine the application ‘as soon as possible’ and out of the filing sequence. The applicant must be timely and responsive to all deadlines and must not request any time extensions.

It is suggested that the applicant chooses its list of goods or services from the CIPO pre-approved list of goods and services. Also, any CIPO objections to the application are recommended to be resolved by a telephone interview.

If you are interested in learning more about Canadian trademark registrations, contact your Taft patent or trademark attorney.