Trademark costs in Canada

When registering a trademark in Canada, businesses typically face three main types of expenses: government fees, professional charges, and taxes. Understanding these costs can help you budget and plan for your trademark application process. long run.

Government Fees

Government fees refer to payments made to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). As of 2025, the filing fee for the first class of goods and services in your trademark application is $478.15 CAD. For each additional class, you must pay $145.12 CAD.

Trademark classes categorize goods and services into broad groups. For example, Class 18 covers leather goods and their imitations but does not include leather clothing, shoes, or headwear. To avoid errors in classification, it is important to consult with a trademark expert to ensure the correct categorization of your products or services.

The more classes your trademark covers, the higher your government fees will be. Larger applications tend to require more time and effort, increasing both official fees and professional charges. However, a trademark with a broader scope provides greater protection and is ultimately more valuable, much like building a larger home.

Professional Fees

Professional charges are fees paid to a registered trademark agent or trademark lawyer for expert services related to your trademark registration. These costs cover the preparation, filing, examination, and registration of your trademark.

The majority of professional charges arise during the application preparation phase and the examination process. The preparation involves understanding your trademark's goals, drafting a detailed list of goods and services, ensuring proper Nice classification, and filing your application. These tasks incur a fixed professional fee, regardless of the number of classes.

The examination phase fees depend on the number of objections raised by the examiner and the complexity of those objections. A trademark with a broader range of goods and services is more likely to face more detailed scrutiny. Additionally, factors like whether your trademark is descriptive or similar to other registered marks can increase the complexity and the cost of the examination process.

If a third party opposes your trademark application during the advertisement period, you may incur substantial costs. Trademark oppositions, while rare (about 4% of applications), are legal proceedings that can become costly if fully contested. In the case of an opposition, you can choose to defend your trademark or allow the application to be abandoned without further fees.

To reduce the risk of an opposition, consider conducting a trademark search and obtaining a legal opinion from a trademark professional before submitting your application. A thorough search helps identify potential conflicts with existing trademarks, saving time and money in the long run.

Taxes

In Canada, professional fees for trademark services are subject to HST or GST, depending on the province or territory where your business operates. These taxes are applicable even if the law firm or trademark agent providing the service is in a different province.

If your business is required to collect and remit sales taxes to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the sales tax on professional services is offset against the sales tax collected when selling your products or services. This can affect your business's cash flow, particularly if you’re a startup or a pre-revenue company filing your first trademark application in Canada.

However, there are no taxes applied to official fees paid to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. Additionally, businesses located outside of Canada are not taxed on professional services related to trademark registration.

Overall Costs

On average, trademark registration in Canada costs between $2,000 and $4,000 CAD (exclusive of taxes), depending on the complexity and number of classes involved. The process can take one to two years to complete.

It’s essential to recognize that cheaper services often mean lower quality, which can lead to negative outcomes like refused applications, defective registrations, and trademark rights that hold little value. Choosing the right professional to handle your trademark registration is crucial for securing valuable rights and protecting your brand.

Is Trademark Registration Worth the Investment?

The advantages of registering a trademark go beyond legal protection. Studies have shown that businesses with registered trademarks see a 1.7% increase in profitability and an 11.9% rise in business valuation. This makes trademark registration a worthwhile investment, especially for small businesses with annual revenues between $100,000 and $2,000,000.

For businesses making at least $100,000 in annual profit, registering a primary trademark (like the trade name) in Canada is often a sound financial move. Unlike depreciating assets, the value of a trademark tends to appreciate as the business grows, providing long-term benefits.

If your business is forced to close or reorganize, your trademark may hold significant value, linked to the goodwill and reputation you’ve built. Additionally, registered trademarks can open doors to new opportunities, such as partnerships, licensing, or collaborations.

A registered trademark gives you exclusive federal rights to the mark, granting you national protection and a presumption of validity. Unregistered trademarks, on the other hand, only provide local protection, and proving their validity requires substantial evidence of reputation within the relevant geographic area.

For more information on how to register your trademark in Canada or the United States, contact us now for a free consultation with a member of our team.