Trade-marks protect the name or logo of a company.  Trade-marks grant their owner the right to prevent any other party from applying the same or a confusingly similar mark to similar products and services or to closely related products and services in some cases.

What Can Be Trade-marked

A trade-mark may be a word, design, logo, sound or color.   Trade-marks is used to distinguish the wares and services of the owner from their competitors.  A trade-mark may also be a combination of more than one of these elements.

Registered vs. Unregistered

Trade-marks may be registered, however, the mere adoption and use of a mark may provide some protection to the owner as an unregistered mark.  An advantage of registration of a trade-mark include preventing infringement or passing off across Canada as opposed to only locally in the case of unregistered marks. Additional advantages include the right to file corresponding trade-mark applications in other countries and preventing others from filing applications for similar marks.

Requirements for Registerability

Unlike patents, there is no need for secrecy before filing a trade-mark application.  The requirements for registering a trade-mark in Canada are that the mark must not be:

• The name of a person;
• Descriptive of the products or services it is used with;
• Confusingly similar to a previously used or registered mark; or
• Prohibited in as an “official mark” in Canada, such as the flag crest or arms of a government body.