Buy a NUANS pre-search. We will send you the first 200 Canadian business names (except Quebec registrations) and trademarks having a given keyword or two.
A NUANS pre-search is used to screen business names before ordering a full NUANS search. Some keywords are so common that there will be far too many results to send you, so we limit nuans pre-search results to the first 200 trade names and trademarks.
- Click to see a sample Nuans preliminary search for the word Husky.
Registering a Confusingly Similar Name Is Prohibited
If you register a business name in Ontario that is confusing with another business name, corporate name, or Canadian trademark, you may get surprised one day when you get a letter demanding that you change your business name.
Fines for Registering Deceptively Similar Business Names
Section 6 of the Ontario Business Names Act prohibits the registration of deceptively similar names and imposes a minimum compensation of $500 in damages. You should have ordered a Nuans pre-search to get a list of similar business names before registering for your Master Business Licence.
Liability for damages
6 (1) A person is entitled to recover compensation from a registrant for damages the person suffered by reason of the registration by the registrant of a name that is the same as or deceptively similar to,
(a) a name registered by the person; or
(b) the person’s name, even though the person is not required to register that name under this Act. 2010, c. 16, Sched. 5, s. 2 (1).
Same
(2) The compensation under each of clauses (1) (a) and (b) is limited to the greater of $500 and the actual amount of damages incurred. 2010, c. 16, Sched. 5, s. 2 (2).
Cancelling registration
(3) In giving a judgment for a plaintiff in an action brought under subsection (1), the court shall order the Registrar to cancel the registration that was the cause of the action. R.S.O. 1990, c. B.17, s. 6 (3).
Nuans Pre-search for the one keyword: Drywall
For example, a nuans pre-search for the word “drywall” results in 11,547 trade names and trademarks. It takes 116 pages of 100 trade names and trademarks per page to save and send the complete result, which if printed, would result in about 600 printed pages and a huge waste of time. When searching common words, please add an additional word to narrow the results.
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90b17#BK14
Nuans Pre-search for two keywords: Wall Pro
For example, a nuans pre-search for the words “wall pro” results in a manageable list of 21 trade names and trademarks. In this example, we show the results of a two keyword nuans pre-search. We used a boolean operator “|” to find names that would be either the conjoined word WallPro or a combination of the two words Wall and Pro. We also added an “*” to wallpro, to capture names such as wallpros and wallprofessionals.
