Buy an Ontario business name search from Business Registration and we will send you the first 200 Canadian business names, corporate names, and trademarks having a given keyword or two. So this is a two-in-one search. You get business names, including corporate names, and trademarks for your keyword.
We use the NUANS pre-search database to search business names, corporation names, and trademarks. 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 business names, trade names, corporation names, and trademarks.
What’s the difference between business names, trade names, corporation names, and trademarks?
- Sole-proprietors register business names in various provinces,
- Corporations register trade names (AKA trade styles and DBA names in a province),
- Corporation names are corporations with real names as opposed to a numbered name, registered either in a Province or Federally in Canada, and
- The trademarks are words and design marks on the Canadian Trademark Office’s database.
You can also search for an arbitrary keyword that can be distinctive for your business. For example, this official Nuans preliminary search to get a list of 200 businesses and trademarks that contain the word BLUE:
Proposed corporate name:blue
Showing 1 to 30 of 30 entries
Name(s)
Rank Name, Jurisdiction and number, Creation date (YYYY-MM-DD), Status
1 BLUE ON-270149818 2017-02-07 Active
2 BLUE QC-2271740476 2016-04-01 Inactive
3 BLUE QC-3362416896 2004-08-10 Inactive
4 911 BLUE ON BLUE ON-300429115 2020-04-29 Active
5 BLUE BLUE DONUTS LTD. ON-1195209 1996-08-16 Active
6 BLUE NOVA BLUE JET QC-2249481625 2000-07-27 Active
7 BLUE ON BLUE INVESTMENTS LTD. ON-2182007 2008-08-14 Active
8 BABY BLUE AND BLUE INC. AB-2020888232 2017-12-28 Active
9 Blue TM-1678592 2014-05-27 Active 9
10 Blue TM-1700837 2014-11-03 Inactive 43
11 BLUE TM-0653264 1990-03-16 Inactive 16
12 BLUE TM-1882276 2018-02-09 Inactive 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45
13 BLUE TM-1464657 2010-01-05 Active 6 , 37
14 Blue TM-1410593 2008-09-12 Inactive 7 , 8 , 11 , 21
15 BLUE TM-1966044 2019-05-31 Active 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45
16 BLUE TM-1467981 2010-02-02 Active 36
17 BLUE TM-1059815 2000-05-19 Inactive 35 , 42
18 Blue TM-1595211 2012-09-21 Inactive 6 , 42
19 Blue Dot CD-120973071 2020-06-02 Prop.CANADA
20 BLUE BAY CD-120959237 2020-05-13 Prop.CYBER
21 BLUE MOVIE ON-260275185 2016-03-15 Active
22 BLUE COMMUNICATIONS ON-260394309 2016-04-14 Active
23 MAPLE BLUE ON-270923915 2017-08-28 Active
24 BLUE OCEAN ON-270943772 2017-08-31 Active
25 BLUE SAPPHIRE ON-271161549 2017-10-30 Active
26 BLUE CABIN ON-271116907 2017-10-18 Active
27 BLUE 449 ON-271090565 2017-10-11 Active
28 BLUE SKY ON-271337214 2017-12-19 Active
29 BLUE MARINE ON-271282766 2017-12-01 Active
30 BLUE SCALE ON-280122185 2018-01-31 Active
….
Click here to download the “BLUE” Nuans preliminary search.
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.
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.
Do I Need an Ontario Business Name Search for Registering a Sole-proprietorship or Partnership?
Yes, an Ontario Business Name Search will show you whether your business name or trade name is available. People often register a business name that is same as or deceptively similar to another business name. Business names include both trade names and corporate names. When you get a cease and desist letter a year later, you would probably become agitated and be in denial that you did anything wrong. It is better to learn that there is a problem before you hand out 100s of business cards and build a nice website over your chosen name.
The Business Names Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. B.17 provides:
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).
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90b17