Commercial Use of Canadian Symbols

Over the past century, symbols that have come to define our country have been formally adopted by the Government of Canada. These official symbols are protected against unauthorized use for commercial purposes.

On this page

• Use of the National Flag of Canada and the stylized 11-point maple leaf for commercial purposes
• Official Symbols of the Government of Canada
• Royal emblems
• Use of Canadian symbols abroad within a foreign trademark

Use of the National Flag of Canada and the stylized 11-point maple leaf for commercial purposes

The National Flag of Canada is protected by the Trade-marks Act against unauthorized use for commercial purposes. Other official symbols, such as the Canada Coat of Arms, are also protected. Section 9 of the Act states that:

• “9. (1) No person shall adopt in connection with a business, as a trade mark or otherwise, any mark consisting of, or so nearly resembling as to be likely to be mistaken for... e) the arms, crest or flag adopted and used at any time by Canada or by any province or municipal corporation in Canada in respect of which the Registrar has, at the request of the Government of Canada or of the province or municipal corporation concerned, given public notice of its adoption and use.”

Requests to use the National Flag of Canada or the stylized 11-point maple leaf should be forwarded by email to:
uds-uos@pch.gc.ca

Applicants must provide their name as well as the name and business address of the organization they represent. In order to provide adequate advice and guidance on proper protocol, a final draft of the proposed visual used must be sent. Scripts, storyboards or descriptions are not sufficient for such submissions.

All submissions will be reviewed in accordance with the Rules for flying the National Flag of Canada.

Designs may be submitted for review in jpg, png, pdf or similar formats. Videos may be submitted as MP4 files or through links to Vimeo or YouTube. Files may be shared through file hosting services such as Dropbox and Google Drive.

Please note that the National Flag of Canada must be represented accurately and not be modified in its proportions (2:1) and its colours (red and white), according to the Description of the National Flag of Canada.

You can download the ZIP file containing JPG, EPS and PNG versions of the National Flag of Canada and the stylized 11-point maple leaf on the Description of the National Flag of Canada webpage. JPG files are standard image files. EPS files are optimal for print products. PNG files are optimal for publication on the web.

Turnaround time is approximately 10 business days.

Official Symbols of the Government of Canada

Symbols such as the Coat of Arms of Canada, the “Canada” Wordmark, and the Government of Canada Signature are normally reserved for use by the Government of Canada, and their commercial use is prohibited in most instances, except to acknowledge financial support from the Government of Canada. These symbols are the responsibility of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS). For more information, see the TBS website on the legal protection of the official symbols of the Government of Canada.

Royal emblems

Royal emblems, such as the Royal Crown and the Sovereign’s cypher, are protected symbols under the authority of the Sovereign, and their commercial use is prohibited in most instances. The use of these emblems in Canada is overseen by the Chief Herald of Canada at the Canadian Heraldic Authority. Enquiries regarding the use of these emblems should be directed by email to armorial@gg.ca. For more information, see the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General’s website on the Royal Crown.

Use of Canadian symbols abroad within a foreign trademark

Under article 6ter of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Stockholm text, 1967):

• “(1)(a) The countries of the Union agree to refuse or to invalidate the registration, and to prohibit by appropriate measures the use, without authorization by the competent authorities, either as trademarks or as elements of trademarks, of armorial bearings, flags, and other State emblems, of the countries of the Union, official signs and hallmarks indicating control and warranty adopted by them, and any imitation from a heraldic point of view.”
• “(9) The countries of the Union undertake to prohibit the unauthorized use in trade of the State armorial bearings of the other countries of the Union when the use is of such a nature as to be misleading as to the origin of the goods.”

Pursuant to paragraph 3 of article 6ter, Canada has notified the World Intellectual Property Organization of its wish to protect the Canadian flag, coat of arms and 11-point maple leaf emblems.

Requests should be forwarded to:

Mailing address:

Intellectual Property, Trade Policy Division (TMI)
Global Affairs Canada
125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa ON  K1A 0G2

Email:

protectedsymbols-symbolesproteges@international.gc.ca