A trademark is the identity of your business. It is the recognizable elements of your brand that consumers can easily identify and associate with your business. Trademarks in Canada can include various types of elements, including words, slogans, logos, taglines, designs, symbols, modes of packaging, moving images, three-dimensional shapes, holograms, colours, scents, tastes, textures, sounds, and any combination of these elements. The key requirement is that a trademark must be capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person or organization from those of others; in other words, it must be distinctive. Trademark protection should be considered at the beginning of any brand development project and is applicable to any industry, no matter the size of your business, from a small neighbourhood bakery to a multi-national consumer goods corporation and everything in between. Your trademarks have the potential to be some of the most valuable assets of your business.
MBM helps clients from the initial step of brand clearance searches, through the entire trademark process, to the enforcement of your trademark rights in Canada and worldwide. We provide cost-effective, client-focused, responsive legal advice, and a complete range of trademark services, including trademark portfolio management, assisting with licensing deals and contracts, and trademark litigation.
Our experienced trademark lawyers have successfully enforced trademark rights before all levels of Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court, and sometimes even contributed to shaping of the Canadian trademark law by setting important legal precedents.
What do we provide as part of MBM’s trademark services?
- Brand clearance searches and legal opinions on brand selection
- Trademark searches
- Trademark monitoring
- Trademark filing & prosecution
- Madrid trademark filing & prosecution
- Trademark renewals
- Trademark portfolio management, domestically and globally
- French Language Law Compliance in Canada
- Drafting cease & desist letters or demand letters
- Trademark dispute resolution (negotiation, mediation, arbitration)
- Assisting with Amazon brand registry
- Assisting with Amazon take-downs
- Trademark oppositions
- Cancellation and invalidation proceedings
- Litigation related to:
- Passing off
- Infringement & dilution
- Depreciation of goodwill
- Anti-counterfeiting
- Trans-shipping and parallel import matters
- False advertising
- Unfair competition
- Domain name disputes
- Trademark transactional services:
- Licensing agreements and contracts
- Assignments of rights
- Purchase & sale agreements
- Distribution agreements
- Geographical indicators
How to get started?
MBM is happy to provide the initial consultation free of charge to help you first identify your specific intellectual property needs.
Book a Consultation