How to Search for a Trademark in Canada

Trademark searches are not difficult to conduct.

The Canadian trademarks database is managed by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), a department within Industry Canada. The database is extensive, holding all active trademarks that have been registered since 1865, as well as all inactive trademarks that have been canceled or refused since 1979. The database also includes items that are not necessarily trademarks but are still protected, such as the symbols and badges of some Canadian organizations.

Instructions

1. Go to the CIPO website.

2. Click on "Trade-marks Database." This brings you to the trademarks database basic search page.

3. Choose your search field. You have many options for the type of search that you can do. Options include the trademark name or description, the current or former owner of the trademark, the application or registration number of the trademark, the type of product or service the trademark represents or a Vienna code search. Vienna coding is a numeric system of identifying certain figurative elements. Do not try to use Vienna coding unless you are already very familiar with it, as it is quite complex.

4. Enter your search criteria. You can enter any characters you want for your search, which is not case sensitive. Of course, if you are searching by trademark, registration number or company name, you should enter the criteria exactly as it is normally written, but you can also enter more general search terms like "cat" in the trademark description field, and you will get all trademarks that use a cat in their design.

5. Click on "Search." This will bring you to a search results page based on the search criteria and field that you have entered. If you do not see what you are looking for, go back to search and choose a new search field and/or new criteria.

6. Click on "Advanced Search." If you get too many or too few results from your basic search, you can do an advanced search. An advanced search allows you to specify up to five different search fields and criteria for a single search as well as the type and status of the trademark. You can also connect each set of criteria with the connectors "or," "and" or "but not." In order to limit your advanced search, you can also specify a time range for when you believe the trademark was registered.

References

• Canadian Intellectual Property Office: Canadian Trade-Marks Database - Help

Resources

• Canadian Intellectual Property Office
• Canadian Intellectual Property Office: Canadian Trade-marks Database