How your industrial design application is processed

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) will process your application according to the steps outlined below.

To ask about the status of your application, please contact us and quote your file number.

If you are represented by an agent, CIPO will address all correspondence to that agent. Therefore, please direct all enquiries related to your application to your agent.

See the complete list of fees related to the registration of an industrial design.

To read our service commitment to clients, see CIPO's Client Service Standards.

On this page:

Process for industrial design registration

• Step 1: Formalities
• Step 2: Examination
• Step 3: Registration
• Step 4: Maintenance

Other processes

• Abandonment and reinstatement
• Requesting more time to respond to an examiner's report
• Accelerated examination
• Accelerated search
• Delay of registration
• Assignment or licence

Process for industrial design registration

Step 1: Formalities

Once you have filed a complete application and paid the fees, we record the application information and filing date and assign an application number. Your application then goes to examination.

Notification: We will issue a filing certificate to you and mail it within the three weeks after we receive your application.

Step 2: Examination

CIPO will:

• classify your application according to the Canadian Industrial Design Classification Standard (PDF: 740 KB; 178 pages) ^{Footnote 1}
• review your application for conformity with the Industrial Design Act and Regulations
• conduct a search of registered designs and published art to ensure your design is original

Once you have met all the requirements for registration, CIPO allows your application and registers your design.

The examiner will notify you of any objections to your application. You may respond by making the required amendments, or by submitting arguments. If your amendments or arguments fail to overcome the objections, CIPO will issue a final report that maintains the objections to registration and no further action will be taken.

You may request a review by the Patent Appeal Board. If your appeal is rejected, you may make an appeal to the Federal Court.

Notifications:

• If your application is not allowable, the examiner will prepare a report within eight months of issuing the filing certificate.
• If your amendments or arguments fail to overcome the objections, the examiner will issue a final report within six weeks of receiving your amendments or arguments.

Step 3: Registration

Once your application is allowed, your design is registered.

Your design is protected for 10 years from the date of registration if you pay the maintenance fee before the expiry of five years.

Notification: Within one week of the registration date, you will receive:

• a certificate of registration
• a copy of the application
• a cover sheet summarizing the information about the design
• a notice explaining the maintenance requirements

Step 4: Maintenance

If you pay the maintenance fee within five years of the registration date, the registration will be valid for the remainder of the 10-year period.

If you pay the maintenance fee late, but within six months of the five years stated above, you must pay an extra fee. The registration will be valid for the remainder of the 10-year period.

Notification: CIPO will issue confirmation of maintenance within one week of receiving the fee.

Other processes

Abandonment and reinstatement

If you do not respond to a report by the specified date, CIPO will consider your application abandoned the following day.

Notification: If you do not reply by the specified date, CIPO will issue a notice of abandonment within one month of the date of abandonment.

To reinstate your industrial design application, you must:

• pay the reinstatement fee
• submit a written request to reinstate
• submit a response to the outstanding report

Notification: If you meet the requirements for reinstatement, the CIPO will issue a letter confirming reinstatement of your application within two weeks of receiving your request.

Requesting more time to respond to an examiner's report

You may ask for one extension of six months to reply to an examiner's report. Learn more about extensions of time in section 7 of the Industrial Design Office Practices.

Notification: CIPO will confirm the extension within one week of receiving your request.

Accelerated examination

You may pay a fee and request that your application be advanced out of its routine order, to be processed and examined on an expedited basis.

Notification: CIPO will issue confirmation of accelerated examination within one week of receiving your request.

Accelerated search

If your application contains a priority claim, you may request that the search for prior art be conducted as early as six months from the date of priority. For more information, please refer to the practice notice entitled "Timing of search to assess originality of an industrial design application where there is a priority claim", January 16, 2017.

Delay of registration

You may pay a fee and request a delay of registration. For more information, please refer to the practice notice entitled "Delaying registration of an industrial design", January 16, 2017.

Notification: CIPO will issue confirmation of the delay of registration within one week of receiving your request.

Assignment or licence

You may submit an assignment or licence document and pay a fee to record it.

Notification: CIPO will confirm that the assignment or licence document has been recorded within six weeks of receiving your request.

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