How to register and protect your designs in Canada

How can intellectual property help me to protect my designs? 

If you are developing products that have a unique appearance, then you may be wondering how you can protect them from being used by competitors. While products that are “useful” may be protected by patents, products that have a “distinguished look or guise” may be protected by designs, and products that have both may be protected by patents and designs.

In most countries, including Canada, registration with the local intellectual property office is necessary to protect a design.  In EU countries, registration is not necessary but can be advantageous for enforcement of design rights.

Registering a design in Canada grants you a right to exclude others from making, importing for the purpose of trade or business, or selling, renting, or offering or exposing for sale or rent, a finished article to which the design is applied, or a design not differing substantially from it. A registered design provides you with the ability to enforce your rights against anyone who performs these activities or uses your design without your authorization and to obtain remedies and damages from the courts.  It also provides a valuable business asset that can be licensed or sold.

In this article, we will outline how you can protect your designs in Canada and provide an insight into the application process to register a design. 

What can be registered as a design in Canada?

In order to be registered in Canada, a design must consist of visual features of a product. They can be three-dimensional features (shape or configuration), two-dimensional features (pattern or ornament, including colour), or any combination of these features in relation to the product.

The design must also be applied to a “finished article”, which is generally understood to be a product that is capable of being made and sold separately. The design can be applied to the entire article, or a portion of the article. Examples of articles that can be protected include electronic devices, furnishings, vehicles, consumer goods, tools, medical devices, and graphical user interfaces (GUIs), electronic icons, or animated designs on display screens. The top product classifications of industrial design applications filed by Canadian applicants are for packaging and containers; tools and hardware; recording, telecommunication or data processing equipment; and clothing (according to global filings in 2024 in the WIPO statistics database).

Finally, the design must be novel or unique. Since novelty is assessed having regard to designs disclosed to the public prior to the filing date of your application, it is important to file your application as soon as possible.

What are referred to as “industrial designs” in Canada are referred to as “industrial design patents” in the United States (in contrast to “utility patents” for inventions). 

Are there any designs that cannot be registered in Canada?

A design cannot be registered in Canada if it consists only of features that are dictated solely by utilitarian function.  In practice, where designs are applied to finished articles that are useful, there is often some design choice to achieve a function, as opposed to only one way (or very limited ways) to achieve it.

If I would like to apply for a Canadian design registration, what information and documentation are needed?

To apply to register a design in Canada, your application must contain: 

• the name of the finished article;
• a representation of the design (drawings or photographs showing the design);
• name and postal address of the applicant (owner); and
• payment of an official filing fee.

The application may include other information, such as a priority claim (discussed below), and a statement indicating that the application relates to only some features. A brief description is optional.

How can I file an application in Canada, and/or internationally?

There are two routes for filing an application in Canada.

You can file a national application with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (“CIPO”) (“National route”).

Alternatively, you can file a single international application through an international system called the “Hague System”, which is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”), and designate Canada (“Hague route”). This will result in a Hague application in Canada.

What is the process for registering a design in Canada?

Once filed, the design application is then classified, searched, and examined substantively by CIPO for compliance with the Industrial Design Act and Regulations.

If there are objections, then a CIPO examiner issues a report, indicating objections and requiring the applicant to amend or argue in support of the design registration.  Examination may proceed through more than one such exchange.

If the objections are overcome or there were no objections, then the design application is registered.

An application becomes public once the design application registers.  If it is desirable to delay publication, for example, until a trade show where the article is to be unveiled, then a request for delay of registration is submitted beforehand.

A design is registered federally and provides protection across Canada in all provinces and territories.

What is the average cost of registering a design in Canada?

As of 2026, obtaining a design typically costs CA$2,000 to CA$3,700, depending on the objections raised, if any.  A design is generally less expensive and quicker to obtain than a patent.

How long does design registration take in Canada?

On average, registration takes 11 months from filing of a national application for a Canadian design.  Examination may be advanced, or registration delayed, upon request and payment of a fee.

If my design is approved, how long will it be registered for?

The term of protection of a Canadian design registration is up to a maximum of 15 years from the filing date.

What about global protection?

Design rights are territorial, meaning that these rights are limited to the country (or region) where protection is granted.

To obtain design protection in multiple countries, applications can be filed in each country where protection is sought.  One option is to file an application in a first country and later, within a six-month period, file separate applications in any other countries and claim priority to the first application to benefit from its filing date in the assessment of prior designs.

Another option is to file a single international design application through the Hague System, designating member countries of the Hague system where protection is sought and paying the fees associated with those designated countries. Once your application complies with formal requirements, it results in applications in the designated countries, benefiting from the filing date of the international design application.

The top five destinations of industrial design applications filed by Canadian applicants are the United States, Canada, the European Union, China and the United Kingdom (according to global filings in 2024 in the WIPO statistics database).

I'm ready to get started with designs!

If you would like to discuss strategies for protecting designs, our Marks & Clerks patent and designs team would be pleased to assist.