How do I find out if something is trademarked in Canada?
To find out if a trademark is registered in Canada, you can follow these steps:
1. Visit the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) website's Canadian Trademarks Database
2. Enter the word or phrase you want to search for in the "Search the Canadian Trademarks Database" box.
3. Click "Search."
4. Review the search results. If the search returns any registered trademarks that are identical or similar to the word, phrase, or design you searched for, then it is likely that your proposed trademark could be infringing on the existing trademark or may otherwise face registration challenges.
5. It is important to note that conducting a trademark search is a complex process. An exact match search may not reveal all the trademarks that may be problematic for your trademark application or use in the marketplace. For example, your search may not reveal marks that may otherwise be problematic due to inadvertent misspellings, creative misspellings (e.g. use of "i" instead of "y") a trademark that has common law rights that is not registered or recent applications that have not been updated on the database. Search's for other types trademarks such as sounds have additional challenges.
In Canada there are two main types of trademarks, registered and common law. Registered trademarks are listed on CIPO's database, while common law trademarks are not listed on the CIPO database. Common law trademark rights are a result of developing goodwill as from use in the marketplace. Using another person's common law trademark may result in legal action against you.
It's important to note that a trademark application can be a complex legal process, and it is always recommended to seek the advice of a qualified trademark lawyer or trademark agent before proceeding with any application or using a proposed trademark.
At Lomic Law we use advanced tools and strategies to provide comprehensive trademark searches tailored to our client's needs.
At Lomic Law all of our lawyers are both registered trademark agents and trademark lawyers. In addition, Paul Lomic is a Certified Specialist in Intellectual Property Law (Trademarks) by the Law Society of Ontario.
Curated by Lomic Law and written by ChatGPT powered by OpenAI as part of Lomic Law's strategic use of technology to assist its clients.
