While relatively rare (about 3% of applications are opposed), trademark oppositions are a quasi-litigation proceeding which can entail significant costs in the tens (and sometimes hundreds) of thousands of dollars if fully fought out between the parties. If a third party opposes your approved trademark application during the advertisement period, a trademark opposition proceeding commences. ![]() ![]() Moreover, the nature of the trademark with respect to where it falls on the spectrum between descriptive and inherently distinctive and whether it is confusingly similar to other trademarks registered in overlapping areas of commerce will factor in the number and nature of objections you have to respond to. This is essentially an exercise in fine tuning the scope of your trademark application to fit your business needs. If you are seeking to maximize the scope of protection granted by your registration with a high number of goods and services crossing many trademark classes, you are more likely to face more objections from the trademark examiner than in an application with fewer classes of goods and services. The professional fees incurred in the trademark examination phase will depend on the number of examiner’s reports you have to respond to, and the nature and complexity of the objections made by the trademark examiner in his or her report. Some professional firms, like ours, will charge a single fee for preparing and filing a trademark application irrespective of the number of classes and others will charge a base fee for a trademark application with one class and then a further fee for each additional class of goods and services included in your application beyond the first. In most trademark applications, most of the professional fees are incurred in preparing your application for filing and in the trademark examination phase. There are professional fees to prepare and file your trademark application, as well as fees during the trademark examination phase (sometimes referred to as trademark prosecution), and the approval, advertisement, allowance and registration phases. Professional fees are those fees payable to your registered trademark agent, who is often also a trademark lawyer, for their professional services helping you with registering your trademark. There is just more time (professional fees) and materials (official fees) involved in building a bigger asset, which will ultimately be worth more. This is analogous to the cost to build a 4000 square foot house being more than the cost to build a 2000 square foot house, all else being equal. But it is also a trademark registration having a broader scope of exclusive rights and correspondingly it is a trademark registration of greater value. It should be noted that a trademark registration covering a larger number of classes, or areas of commerce, will entail higher official fees at filing and most likely also higher professional fees over the time period from application to registration. Navigating class headings requires careful consideration to avoid misclassifying goods and services in your application. ![]() Class 18, for example, includes mainly leather, imitations of leather and certain goods made of those materials, but importantly, this class does not include clothing, footwear, and headwear made from leather for dress by people. For each class of goods and services beyond the first, there is a further cost of $105.26 CAD (in 2023) per class payable when filing your application.Ĭlass headings describe, in very broad terms, the nature of goods or services contained in each class. There is a trademark application filing fee of $347.35 CAD (in 2023) for the first class of goods and services in your Canadian trademark application. Official fees are the fees payable to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. Registering a trademark in Canada normally entails up to three types of costs: official fees, professional fees, and taxes. By: Christopher Heer, Michelle Huong, Nikita Munjal | Last updated: October 16, 2023
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