A Nuans name search report is a seven-page report which is generated from the Nuans name search system. The report compares a proposed name or trade-mark with the database of existing names that have been registered anywhere across Canada.
The purpose of the Nuans name search system is to maintain the list of all Canadian companies, partnerships, trade-marks and sole proprietorships across all provinces and territories in Canada in order to ensure duplication does not occur with the registration of a company name.
By comparing the proposed name against the Nuans name search system, any similarity existing between the proposed name and the names in the database, will show up on the Nuans name search report. This will allow you to determine whether you are planning on using a name for your company that is too similar to another name. It is important for your name to be as distinct as possible.
If you are incorporating a company in the provinces of Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, in the Yukon territory and in the federal jurisdiction of Canada, you will be required to provide a Nuans name search report.
Name search reports are required by all provinces and territories including the federal jurisdiction, when incorporating companies in Canada. However the Nuans is only accepted in six jurisdictions. It is still advisable to do a preliminary name search through the Nuans system because it keeps a listing of all names registered throughout Canada.
In Canada certain jurisdictions only will review a Nuans prior to registering a company and they are shown below:
Alberta
New Brunswick
New Brunswick
Yukon
Federal
Alberta
The governments which do not accept reports from the Nuans name search system provide a list of any names that have been registered in their province or territory to the Nuans name search system and these names are added to the Nuans system database.
You cannot incorporate a company with a name that is exactly the same as another name already registered. When you go to incorporate a company in Canada the government must first know if that name has been taken.
The Nuans name search report is also your way of determining whether there are additional conflicts to your name. The onus will be on you to look over the entire report and make sure you are not proposing to use a name that is even close to another corporate name or trade-mark since the owner of the name could still have a claim against you if your name is too similar and his or her company name has had a large presence in the marketplace for many years.
If you are incorporating a company in Alberta you will be required to provide an Alberta biased Nuans name search report and if you are registering a business federally you will be required to provide a Canada biased Nuans name search report. These reports are biased to the jurisdiction they represent but the report still covers all names registered across Canada.
There is no protection for business names in Alberta and Ontario so you can register a name exactly the same as any other business name that has been registered without obtaining a Nuans name search report.
A preliminary name search would be advisable in cases where a full Nuans is not required to guard against registering a name exactly the same. This is because it is a very bad idea to register a name exactly the same as another name already registered.
You would need to contact a search house in order to have a preliminary name search performed. It does not matter what the jurisdiction is where you live, since the search house can send you the report by email. Nuans Search Houses are trained on the best method of performing Preliminary Nuans Name Search reports in order to ensure that the most conflicts to your proposed names can be found prior to ordering a Nuans Name Search Report.
Attend at Resources for Canadian Business Owners for a Free Incorporation Checklist and a Federal Corporate Name Search and other legal services.
