Following our post from July 2015, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (“CIPO”) is now accepting trade-mark applications filed with goods and services classified using the Nice Classification system.  As part of this process, CIPO has also updated the online Canadian trade-marks database, such that “Nice classification” is now a possible search field.  In addition, the Canadian Goods and Services Manual has been updated to allow users to search for specific terms within all 45 Nice classes, and to cut-and-paste or import text containing a list of goods and services for proposed classification by the database.

Once the upcoming changes to the Canadian trade-mark regime come into effect, there will be a requirement to classify the goods and services claimed in an application into Nice classes, and to have that classification approved by an Examiner.  For the time being, however, the classification of goods and services by an Applicant is entirely voluntary.

As another interim point of interest, where the Examiner does not agree with an Applicant’s classification of goods and services for a yet-to-be advertised application, CIPO will nevertheless advertise the application in the Trade-marks Journal if no other requirements and/or objections are outstanding – but without the Nice classification.  Obviously, this will no longer be the case once the changes to Canada’s trade-mark regime come into force.

We will provide an update as soon as it becomes mandatory to classify goods and services in Canadian trade-mark applications.  In the meantime, the ability to search all Nice classes and to view the expanded list of goods and services that are acceptable to CIPO is a welcome update.