It is a symbol or a drawing or a combination of these elements which serve to distinguish the products or services offered by one company on the market from others. Representing the producer’s reputation, the trademark is regarded as very important intellectual property. The process and follow-up for a trademark application are the same in the U.S. and Canada with the exception of the duration. In Canada a registered trademark gives exclusive right to this mark for 15 years and is renewable for every further 15 year period as long as the mark is always in use. In the United States this exclusive right is for 10 years and renewable every 10 year period thereafter.

The process for obtaining a trademark through the Inventarium consists of the following steps:

1- The search for availability of the trademark coveted.
2- Registering the trademark.

The search for availability aims at checking if the mark you wish to covet is already used or if it could potentially lead to confusion with another mark already registered. A search report which includes relevant trademarks and the recommendations of the evaluator will be submitted to you.

With the results of the search report in hand, if you decide to register the trademark coveted, we will proceed to compile the documents necessary for registration in the Canadian and/or U.S. trademark offices, based on your request.

Order your file opening kit which includes our official confidential disclosure form comprising a pre-signed confidentiality agreement which guarantees that your file is treated with total confidentiality.

An amount of $25 + taxes is charged for the kit.

Credit card payments are made secure using the National Bank‘s SÉCURNAT system

Following the registration of your trademark, the trademark offices (Canadian and/or American depending on your decision) will perform a search in the trademark archives to see if there is any other mark that conflicts with yours. It will then be examined to see if it complies with the requirements of “Trademark Law”.

This request will then be published in the “Trademark Newspaper”. The trademark office gives the necessary time allowance for the public to put up oppositions to the request, if any. Whoever wishes, can for the payment of $750 deposit a statement of opposition to the registrar. After examination of the proof from one more parties, the registrar accepts or rejects the opponent’s request.

If nobody deposits a statement of opposition, the mark is accepted. A $200 tax for the official registration is then collected. You will receive your official registration certificate a few months later. In the United States, this registration tax $375US.