We report the date of the long-awaited coming into force of the new Canadian trademark regime – June 17, 2019. The principal changes include the following: (1) It will no longer be necessary to state a basis for trademark applications and (2) Declarations of Use will no longer be required, including for currently pending applications.
In addition, registrations issuing, or due for renewal, after June 17, 2019 will have a ten-year term. Registrations due for renewal before June 17, 2019 will be renewed for 15 years. There is some cost benefit to renewing existing registrations before June 17, 2019. The official fee for pre-June 17 renewals will remain a flat fee of $350 CDN (about $265 USD). Renewals filed after June 17 will be subject to a fee of $400 CDN (approximately $305 USD) for the first class, and an additional $125 CDN (approximately $95 USD) for each additional class. The renewal term, however, will depend on whether the registration is due before (15 years) or after (10 years) June 17, 2019.