Patents and Industrial Designs

We can draft, file and handle the prosecution of your applications in Canada, including international applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), and assist you in determining the best strategy for obtaining protection. In cases of infringement, we can collaborate with professionals from leading firms specializing in intellectual property litigation, and provide assistance to our clients’ counsel in such matters as needed.

Specifically, we can:

• conduct patentability searches;

• advise on the patentability of an invention;

• conduct a “state of the art” patent search for Canada and the United States;

• draft patent applications for filing in Canada and elsewhere;

• coordinate the payment of maintenance and renewal fees in Canada and elsewhere;

• handle prosecution of patent and industrial design applications in Canada and elsewhere ;

• prepare drawings for industrial design applications;

• draft and comment on licences and assignments, and

• advise on questions of validity and/or infringement of patent rights.

Trademarks

We can draft, file and handle the prosecution of your trademark applications in Canada through to registration, and assist you in determining the best strategy for securing a strong registration. We can also help you acquire trademark protection elsewhere in the world, and in cases of infringement, we can collaborate with professionals from leading firms specializing in intellectual property litigation, and provide assistance to our clients’ counsel in such matters as needed.

Specifically, we can:

• conduct availability searches of the Canadian Trademarks Register;

• render registrability assessments based on our search reports;

• file and prosecute the application through to registration;

• advise as to the best strategies to achieve registration in the event that objections are raised at the examination stage;

• represent our clients before the Canadian Trademarks Opposition Board in Opposition proceedings;

• advise on suitable strategies to defend a registration against third-party Opposition or summary cancellation proceedings (Section 45 of the Act);

• direct a notice to the Canadian Trademarks Office to expunge a mark based on non-usage;

• register trademarks as domain names and advise on issues related thereto;

• advise on issues regarding licenses and mutual consent agreements;

• advise on questions of validity and/or infringement of trademark rights, and

• notify our clients when their registered trademarks must be renewed.

Competitive Rates

While there may be some minor additional costs for reminders or other interventions, we pride ourselves on not having substantial “hidden” costs.  We also do our best to offer competitive rates and remain available for exploratory discussions without charge so long as these do not require significant amounts of time and research.  We offer many other small courtesies and favours without additional charge as gestures of reciprocity.  We are committed to working with our clients to meet their expectations and we understand that our clients want as much predictability with costs as possible.  This is what separates us from many other Canadian IP firms and why we have been able to build trust and preserve our foreign associate client base for so many years.

Latest Issues, Trends and Law

In an information and technology-driven economy, the protection of a company’s intellectual property, often referred to as its “intangible” assets, is an essential part of its long-term success and competitiveness. We are current on the latest issues, trends and law to ensure that we can secure strong rights for our clients and answer all their intellectual property needs.

Research and Other Tools

In the area of research tools, we have electronic access to Canadian intellectual property case law, and we make use of various resources available over the Internet, in addition to other research tools.

We utilize a sophisticated database management system developed in-house, which ensures that all critical due dates are met. We can therefore effectively track due dates for applications still at the prosecution stage, docket trademark and industrial design registrations for renewal purposes and also track the due dates of foreign and domestic annuities and maintenance fees for pending applications and granted patents.

Last but not least, we use a comprehensive billing system which provides a detailed breakdown of our charges where the total amount can be displayed in US dollars for our US based clients.