You search for "CIPO," click a result, and land on a government website full of databases, forms, fee schedules, and acronyms. If you are a founder or business owner, the practical question is simpler than the site makes it look: what is this agency, and what do you actually need from it? CIPO, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, is the federal office where trademarks, patents, copyright, and industrial designs are registered in Canada. For most businesses, the reason to deal with CIPO is to protect a brand name or logo, or to register a creative work. This guide explains what CIPO is, what each of its services does, what they cost as of 2026, and how to file.
What is CIPO?
CIPO is the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, the federal agency responsible for granting and registering intellectual property rights in Canada. It administers five types of rights: trademarks, patents, copyright, industrial designs, and integrated circuit topographies. CIPO is a special operating agency of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), a federal department. In plain terms, CIPO is the official register and gatekeeper for most formal IP rights in the country.
CIPO has gone by the same name for decades and became a special operating agency in 1992. Its work is organized into branches that mirror the rights it handles: a Patents Branch, a Trademarks Branch, and a Copyright and Industrial Design Branch. It also houses the Trademarks Opposition Board, which decides disputes about whether a pending trademark should be allowed to register. When a business "files with CIPO," it is dealing with one of these branches.
What does CIPO do?
CIPO grants, registers, and maintains intellectual property rights, and it publishes searchable registers of those rights. The four rights most relevant to Canadian businesses are trademarks, copyright, patents, and industrial designs. Each protects something different and is obtained in a different way.
| IP right | What it protects | How you get it | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trademark | Brand identifiers such as names, logos, and slogans | Application examined and registered by CIPO; some rights also arise through use | 10 years, renewable in 10-year periods |
| Copyright | Original creative works: writing, art, music, software code | Arises automatically on creation; registration with CIPO is optional | Generally the life of the author plus 70 years for works created today |
| Patent | New, useful, and non-obvious inventions | Application examined and granted by CIPO | 20 years from the filing date |
| Industrial design | The visual appearance of a product: shape, pattern, ornament | Application examined and registered by CIPO | The later of 10 years after registration and 15 years from filing |
Two points in that table are worth drawing out, because they surprise people. First, copyright in Canada arises automatically the moment an original work is created and fixed in some form. You do not have to register it with CIPO to hold it, although registration is available and produces a certificate that can serve as evidence of ownership. Second, a trademark can be protected both through registration at CIPO and, separately, through use in the marketplace, so the register does not show every mark that carries some rights.
CIPO also educates the public about intellectual property and maintains the public databases that let anyone search existing rights, including the Canadian Trademarks Database. Searching the register before you adopt or file a brand is a standard first step, and Clearview's guide to a Canadian trademark search walks through how to do it and where do-it-yourself searches fall short.
Is CIPO a government department, and how is it funded?
CIPO is not a stand-alone department; it is a special operating agency that sits inside ISED. A special operating agency is a unit of a federal department that delivers a defined service and is run with more operational independence than an ordinary branch. CIPO operates largely on a cost-recovery basis, funded by the fees it charges for applications, registrations, and maintenance rather than by general tax revenue. That funding model is why CIPO publishes detailed fee schedules and adjusts them over time, and patents make up the largest share of its fee revenue, according to CIPO's published annual reports.
For a business, the practical takeaway is that the government fees CIPO charges are set by the agency and are the same regardless of who files. They are separate from any professional fee a trademark agent or lawyer charges to prepare and manage the filing.
How much does it cost to file with CIPO?
CIPO fees depend on the right you are registering. The figures below are CIPO's online fees as of January 2026, when the agency applied its annual adjustment. They are government fees only and do not include professional fees or applicable taxes.
| CIPO filing (online) | Fee (as of January 2026) |
|---|---|
| Trademark application, first class | $491.06 |
| Trademark application, each additional class | $149.04 |
| Trademark renewal, first class | $595.06 |
| Trademark renewal, each additional class | $185.49 |
| Copyright registration, per work | $63.00 |
A few notes help put these numbers in context. Trademark fees are charged per class of goods or services, so a business that needs protection in several classes pays the first-class fee plus the additional-class fee for each further class. Copyright registration is comparatively inexpensive at $63 for an online application, and once a copyright is registered no further fee is required to maintain it. Patent and industrial design fees follow their own schedules and tend to be higher and more staged over the life of the right. CIPO adjusts these amounts periodically under the Service Fees Act, so reconfirm the current figure on CIPO's site before you file.
How long does CIPO take?
Timelines vary by right and by CIPO's current workload. For trademarks, CIPO publishes a forecast of how long a newly filed application will wait before an examiner first reviews it. As of June 2026, CIPO forecasts that an application filed that month will wait approximately 7.9 months before examination begins. That figure is a moving target that CIPO updates, so treat it as a current-pace estimate rather than a fixed deadline.
Examination is only the first substantive stage. After an application clears examination, it is advertised for a two-month opposition period, and then, if no opposition is filed, it proceeds to registration. Taken end to end, a straightforward Canadian trademark application often takes in the range of 12 months from filing to registration, assuming no examiner's objections or oppositions arise. If CIPO raises an objection in an examiner's report, the timeline extends while you respond. Clearview's explainer on what an examiner's report is describes that stage and why it is a routine part of the process rather than a sign the application is in trouble.
How do you file something with CIPO?
You file with CIPO through its online services, which handle trademarks, patents, copyright, and industrial designs, along with fee payments. For a trademark, the broad steps are consistent: search the register to check availability, identify the goods or services and their classes, prepare the application, file it and pay the per-class fee, respond to any examiner's report, and clear the opposition period before registration. Clearview's complete guide to registering a trademark in Canada covers each of those stages in detail.
Registering a copyright is simpler. You file an application identifying the work and its author or owner, pay the fee, and CIPO issues a certificate of registration. CIPO does not assess the originality or quality of the work at registration, so the process is largely administrative.
Can you deal with CIPO yourself, or do you need an agent?
You can represent yourself before CIPO. Many businesses file copyright registrations on their own, and a self-represented applicant can also file a trademark application. Where it matters is representation: if you want another person to represent you in a trademark matter before the Registrar, that role is generally reserved to a registered trademark agent under the Trademarks Regulations. A lawyer can act in that role only if the lawyer is also a registered trademark agent. The agent registration, not a law licence on its own, is what authorizes the representation. Patent matters work similarly and call for a registered patent agent.
In practice, businesses often use a professional because the choices that shape a strong application, which classes to claim, how to describe goods and services, and how to respond to an objection, are easier to get wrong than they look. Clearview's article on whether you need a lawyer to register a trademark sets out when do-it-yourself filing can be reasonable and when professional help earns its cost.
Which CIPO matters does Clearview handle?
Clearview handles trademark registration and copyright matters with CIPO. Connor, the founder of Clearview, is a lawyer licensed by the Law Society of Ontario and a registered Canadian trademark agent with CPATA, which is the credential that allows Clearview to represent clients in trademark matters before the Registrar. Clearview can prepare and file trademark applications, manage examination and the opposition period, and advise on copyright registration for valuable works.
Patents and industrial designs sit outside that scope. Those rights require a registered patent agent, and Clearview can point you toward appropriate counsel for them rather than acting where it is not the right fit. Being clear about the boundary is part of giving accurate advice: CIPO administers all of these rights, but the right professional differs depending on which one you need.
CIPO at a glance
CIPO is the single federal office behind most of the IP rights a Canadian business cares about. If you are protecting a brand, you will deal with its Trademarks Branch; if you are registering a creative work, its Copyright and Industrial Design Branch. The government fees are published and uniform, the trademark process runs on a public timeline CIPO updates, and you can either deal with the office yourself or work through a registered agent. Understanding what CIPO is and what it does turns an intimidating government site into a set of concrete, manageable steps.
If you are ready to file a trademark, Clearview offers fixed-fee packages starting at $999 plus applicable taxes for the legal work, with CIPO's government fees passed through at cost. Contact Clearview to discuss trademark registration and the right protection strategy for your business.