Industrial design can be one of the cheaper ways to obtain intellectual property rights, especially compared to obtaining patent rights. The difference in costs is mostly because that no description and claims need to be drafted and it is generally cheaper to respond to Examiner’s Reports.
Without knowing the details of your design and the designs in the field, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to provide an accurate estimate of the costs particular to your design. Nonetheless, we are trying to provide you with a rough idea of the cost range with respect to applying for an industrial design in Canada based on our experience.
It generally takes 1-2 years and $1,200-3,000 before an industrial design is registered or rejected in Canada.
We discuss the typical process of the industrial design application and the associated costs below. The industrial design application process is generally similar to the patent application process.
If you have any questions, contact us.
The Typical Industrial Design Application Process and Associated Costs:
- Filing an Industrial Design Application
- Examination of the Industrial Design Application
- The Industrial Design Application is Allowed or Rejected
- Maintaining the Industrial Design Right
1. Filing an Industrial Design Application
Once you decide to proceed with the application, you can prepare the necessary documents for application, especially a representation of the design, which can be illustrations or photographs.
You can file the application by yourself or appoint an agent to file the application for you. The government fee for filing an application in 2024 is $567.00, and if the representation is more than 10 pages, then $14.00 for each page of the representation in excess of 10 pages.
If you decide to hire an agent to file the application for you, the service fee is usually about $500. However, if there more than one variant in the application, the service fee is usually about $200 for each additional variant. For example, if the application includes one design and one variant of the design, the service fee will be about $700.
2. Examination of the Industrial Design Application
Six to twelve months after the application is filed, the Industrial Design Office will start examining the industrial design application. If the Office believes that the industrial design is not registrable, a report will be issued, indicating the objection(s) to the registration.
A response including arguments and/or revision of the application must be filed in view of the report to persuade the Office that the Otherwise the application will be deemed abandoned.
You may respond to the report by yourself if you have not appointed an agent. However, the report must be filed by the agent if one has been appointed.
The cost for the agent to prepare and file a response is generally between $250-1,000.
3. The Industrial Design Application is Allowed or Rejected
Sometimes an industrial design is considered registrable without a report and the industrial design will be registered.
Sometimes, a response to the report is able to convince the Industrial Design Office that the industrial design is registrable and the industrial design will be registered. Sometimes, the Office is convinced after several rounds of reports and responses thereto.
Sometimes, the Office is not convinced that the industrial design is registrable even after several rounds of reports and responses thereto and the application will be refused. You may appeal the refusal to the Federal Court, which will be an expensive endeavour.
After the industrial design is registered, a registration package will be sent to you.
However, if you appointed an agent, the package will be forwarded to the agent who will then send you the package. The service fee for sending the package to you is usually $200-300.
4. Maintaining the Industrial Design Right
The industrial design right begins on the date of registration, and ends on the latter one of the end of 10 years after registration or 15 years from the Canadian filing date. To maintain the industrial design right for its complete duration, a maintenance fee is required to be paid to the Office within five years after the registration. The fee is $496.00 if it is paid in 2024. There will be a $150 service fee if you appointed an agent.