It is now possible to seek expedited review of Canadian trademark applications for protection of COVID-19 related trademarks. Grounds to receive special treatment of an application include:
a court action is underway in Canada with respect to the trademark;
the applicant is trying to combat counterfeit products at the Canadian border; or
a Health Canada approval for use of the goods or services is in process or completed.
The recent CIPO Practice Notice is located here: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/wr04872.html
Given that regular examination of Canadian trademark applications is currently taking over 24 months, the ability to accelerate should be helpful for applicants in this fast-moving technology field. Please contact us if you have questions or need assistance with this or other IP matters.
