Best Business Attorneys in Richmond Hill, ON

Before adopting or applying for a trademark, there are a number of things to keep in mind: ​- You cannot register a trademark that is confusing with someone else’s. Before adopting a new trademark or filing a trademark application, it is always recommended to conduct a comprehensive search for not only trademarks that are identical, but are also similar to or confusing with the trademark that you are seeking to register. By similar, this means trademarks that look or sound alike, and or suggest similar ideas. - You cannot register a trademark that is primarily a name. This limitation exists to prevent a company from monopolizing the use of a name for business. Note that you can still operate a business under your own name, but you simply cannot monopolize it through a trademark registration to prevent others (who may also have the same name) from using it. - ​​You cannot adopt a trademark that is clearly descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of your goods or services. To prevent a monopoly on general descriptions, trademarks cannot be clearly descriptive of the goods or services. Trademarks also cannot be used to mislead consumers about the product or services. - You cannot register a trademark that is the name of the goods or services in any language. These are some of the limitations when registering trademarks, and should be considered when adopting a new brand, even if a registration is currently not being pursued.