Why Trademark Searches are Important
After months, you have finally decided on THE name for your new product.
You have conducted your own market research and you are not aware of anyone else using this trademark. You are anxious and eager to begin rolling this out, so you take the plunge. Your marketing team prepares advertisements, packaging – perhaps even signage. You have a fresh deck of business cards in your pocket.
Fast forward 2-3 years. Your product is a huge success and customers recognize your trademark. One morning you open your email and there is a scary “Cease and Desist” letter in your inbox.
The lawyer that has sent the letter alleges you have infringed on their client’s rights and are demanding that you cease using the trademark immediately or else. You only have two weeks to respond their demands. You have spent so much money on marketing and years building your client base.
What do you do?
You will need to reach out to a trademark agent who will determine whether the claims in the letter you received are warranted. While we cannot roll back time and conduct those preliminary searches now, we at Nelligan Law can help you respond and negotiate terms that you are comfortable with.
For those beginning the trademark process, it is important to have a Canadian trademark agent conduct preliminary searches of your trademark before you begin. This can significantly mitigate the risk of infringing another’s trademark, which will save a lot of time and money down the road.
When conducting these preliminary searches, your Canadian trademark agent will review the Canadian Trademark Registery and conduct common law searches. Once the trademark has been cleared, you can then file a trademark application, which once registered, will grant you trademark protection throughout Canada.
Our IP Team would be pleased to discuss the trademark process with you. Get in touch with us today.