CIPO’s weekly trademark .xml data releases often include a so-called ‘delete’ file in addition to the weekly ‘update’ file(s). By processing each week’s ‘delete’ file one can easily stay in sync with CIPO’s online trademark database. In contrast, it is more cumbersome to stay in sync with CIPO’s online patent database.
If you had inspected the Trademarks portion of CIPO’s IP Horizons: download intellectual property data web page between 24-Mar-2021 and 31-Mar-2021 you would have seen something like this (click to enlarge the image):
If you had downloaded and unzipped that 411.43 MB WEEKLY_2021-03-23_00-06-48.zip file, you would have seen something like this
(click to enlarge the image):
If you had then unzipped the
CA-TMK-DELETE_2021-03-16-2021-03-22_182917_1748780_001.zip file you would have seen something like this
1 (click to enlarge the image):
As can be seen, unzipping the delete file yielded 11 .xml files and 3 .png files (the .png files contain design mark images). CIPO’s naming convention for its trademark .xml files is based on the application serial numbers CIPO assigns whenever a new application is filed for any mark. For example, the file named 182917-01.xml pertains to the application to which CIPO assigned serial number 182917-01. If you look that application number up on CIPO’s online trademark database you won’t find anything because CIPO has removed that application from the online database. That is the point of this post.
Note that all 11 of the .xml files contained in the delete file have non-zero 2-digit suffixes, e.g. 01 and 02. Those non-zero suffixes tell us that these files pertain to so-called extension applications, which seek to extend the goods / services coverage of an existing trademark registration pursuant to
Section 41(2) of the
Trademarks Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. T-13). If an extension application succeeds then CIPO modifies the existing registration by “merging” the goods / services details from the approved extension application into the existing registration’s goods / services statement. CIPO then removes the extension application from the online trademark database.
However CIPO does not modify the global or weekly update files once they have been published. Anyone using CIPO’s trademark .xml data to construct a database must independently remove “merged” extension applications from their database to keep the database in sync with CIPO’s online trademark database. CIPO facilitates this, in taking the final “merging” step for an extension application, by (1) updating the <tmk:MarkCurrentStatusInternalDescriptionText> element in the .xml file for the extension application; and (2) including the updated .xml file in a weekly ‘delete’ file. Here, for example, is a small extract from the version of CIPO’s .xml file for extension application no. 182917-01 as included in the aforementioned CA-TMK-DELETE_2021-03-16-2021-03-22_182917_1748780_001.zip file (click to enlarge the image):
Notice the text “Merged” encapsulated by the <tmk:MarkCurrentStatusInternalDescriptionText> element. This signals to those working with the .xml data that CIPO has taken its final “merging” step in relation to the extension application and removed it from the online trademark database. Persons working with CIPO’s trademark.xml data can readily detect that signal and take the appropriate action to remove the extension application in question from their databases / records collections / etc.
CIPO also uses “Merged” in the <tmk:MarkCurrentStatusInternalDescriptionText> element to signify merger into one registration of two registrations that result from a division (in which case the goods / services details from the new registration are combined with the goods / services in the older registration, whereupon the “Merged” divisional is removed from the online trademark database).
Occasionally—albeit rarely—CIPO finds it necessary to remove details of an application from the online trademark database because the application was created in error. When that happens CIPO takes steps to notify persons working with the trademark .xml data. Such steps can include emails directed to those who have taken advantage of the “Register for notifications” feature on CIPO’s IP Horizons web page, and publication of a special deletion notice on the IP Horizons web page
3.
Unfortunately, things are not so straightforward for those who work with CIPO’s patent .xml data. As far as I am aware, publication of an
Erratum notice in the
Canadian Patent Office Record is CIPO’s only mechanism for notifying persons working with the patent .xml data of CIPO’s removal of a particular patent document from the online patent database
4. It is rather cumbersome to monitor each weekly issue of the CPOR for potentially relevant
Erratum notices. Consequently, although my trademark data warehouse is in sync with CIPO’s online trademark database, my patent data warehouse is
not in sync with CIPO’s online patent database:
1 If you had unzipped the 2 files named CA-TMK-UPDATE_2021-03-16-2021-03-22_72129_2000910_001.zip and CA-TMK-UPDATE_2021-03-16-2021-03-22_2000912_2093830_002.zip, you would have obtained 13,109 .xml files pertaining to trademark applications having serial numbers ranging from 72129 through 2093830; plus 4,685 .png files containing images for the design marks included in those applications; plus 1 .mp3 audio file for the single sound mark included in those applications; plus 1 .mp4 video file for the single motion mark included in those applications. This post is not concerned with those update files or their contents.
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2 See previous post: The Data”↩
3 See for example the “March 19, 2021: Trademark and Industrial Design – data correction required” notice which stated “Trademark application 1000184-04 must be deleted from your internal databases and/or archives. It was published in error.”↩
4 See for example CPOR Vol. 149, No. 13, 30-Mar-2021, page 25 re application no. 3080045: “All information respecting patent application number 3,080,045 referred to under the section Canadian Applications Open to Public Inspection contained in the June, 16, 2020 issue of the Canadian Patent Office Record was erroneously published, and should be disregarded.” CIPO in fact included patent administrative status file CA03080045-20200618.xml in its weekly admin202025.zip file dated 18-Jun-2020.↩
