Trade-marks Consultation Period Closing June 11, 2009
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office has opened up consultation to proposed changes to the trademark application process including:
- providing Applicants with six (6) months to respond to Examiner's Reports rather than the current four (4) months;
- no longer imposing a deadline for a Requesting Party to respond to correspondence relating to Changes in Title; and
- No longer issuing courtesy letters to Applicants to inform about co-pending and confusing applications that have a later entitlement date.
While the first two proposals will likely result in fewer requests for extensions of time and a more realistic time line for Applicants and their representatives, an open-ended Change in Title request may result in some uncertainty with respect to the ownership of trademark applications and registrations. Nevertheless, trademark owners would be well advised to expedite title transfers in order to perfect their ownership for the purpose of notifying the public, competitors and consumers regarding the source of products and services. In terms of the third proposal, it is unlikely that many trademark agents and lawyers would rely upon such courtesy letters to monitor the Trade-marks Register since they have been discretionary and somewhat inconsistently disseminated. Nevertheless, improving upon the delivery of such letters is likely resource prohibitive for the Trademarks Office and with the multiple automated trademark search and watch services available the continued delivery of such courtesy letters unnecessarily exposes the Trademarks Office to liability for failure to provide notice in some instances. Overall, the proposed changes are likely to enhance service by reducing requests for extension of time and the inconsistent provision of courtesy letters thereby potentially improving the administration of trademark applications, registrations and title transfers.
