A Canadian trademark is only as secure as the diary entry behind it. We docket Canadian renewals and statutory deadlines against the official CIPO record, reconcile them every month, and escalate before the date rather than after it.
The Canadian renewal regime
- Term. 10 years from the registration date for marks registered on or after 17 June 2019, but 15 years for anything registered before that date.
- Measured from. The registration date — which matters, because a portfolio docketed off the wrong one of those two dates can be out by months.
- Grace period. 6 months after expiry, with late fees.
- Opposition window. 2 months from advertisement.
Deadlines beyond renewal
CIPO requires no affirmative declaration of use between renewals, which sounds easier and is in one way more dangerous: there is no periodic filing to force a review of the portfolio. A mark can drift into five years of non-use and become vulnerable to cancellation with no deadline having been missed at all. We review use evidence on a schedule for exactly this reason.
The Canadian deadline most portfolios get wrong
Canada’s renewal term changed from 15 years to 10 in June 2019 and the change was not retroactive. A long-standing Canadian portfolio therefore contains marks on two different cycles at the same time. Docketing every Canadian mark on a single assumed term is one of the most reliable ways to lose one.
How we docket Canadian marks
- Reconcile against the register. Every date is taken from the CIPO record, not from a spreadsheet you inherited.
- Dual escalation. A first alert with working time to act, a second as the statutory date approaches, and a named human chasing it.
- Grace-period tracking. The 6 months window is docketed as a separate deadline, because it is a real last chance and not a soft extension.
- Monthly audit. New registrations, assignments and address changes reconciled so the docket does not silently drift from the register.
Frequently asked questions
When does a Canadian trademark need renewing?
10 years from the registration date for marks registered on or after 17 June 2019, but 15 years for anything registered before that date, calculated from the registration date. The grace period afterwards is 6 months, with late fees applied.
What happens if a Canadian renewal deadline is missed?
Inside the 6 months grace period the mark can be renewed late on payment of a surcharge. After that the registration lapses and the only routes back are discretionary or unavailable — and in the meantime the mark is open for a competitor to register. Recovering a lapsed mark, where it is possible at all, costs many times what the renewal would have.
Can you take over an existing Canadian docket?
Yes, and the first thing we do is reconcile what you hand us against the CIPO register rather than trusting it. Inherited dockets are where the errors live: marks recorded off the wrong base date, assignments never updated, and deadlines that were computed once and never rechecked.
Never miss a Canadian deadline again
Send us the portfolio — a list of marks and numbers is enough to start. We reconcile it against the CIPO register and come back with the live deadline picture, including anything already overdue. See how our trademark docketing service works, or file a new trademark in Canada for a $399 per-class professional fee. Government and official fees are additional, are never marked up, and are confirmed in writing before anything is filed.