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File a Trademark for $399 + $250 Government Filing Fee
Trademark Attorney Working With Clients in Laval, Quebec
If you're an entrepreneur, you know that protecting your intellectual property should be high on your list when it comes to safeguarding your company. However, as a successful business owner, you also know the steps and costs of filing a trademark in the U.S. can be expensive and arduous.
This conundrum can be even more overwhelming for new business owners who want to do everything possible to minimize the price of securing trademarks. They try to handle complicated tasks like trademark registration on their own, which can be a big mistake - especially when juggling the day-to-day tasks of running a business. You may be thinking, "But what about those set-it-and-forget-it services you can find online? All you have to do is plug in your info, and you're done." Using pre-made templates for trademark filing can be tempting, but doing so can leave you with inadequate protection and hurt you in the long run.
So, what is the easiest, most cost-effective route to consider that also minimizes legal risk? The truth is, before you spend money on an online filing service, it's best to consult with a trademark attorney working with clients in Laval, Quebec.
At Sausser Summers, PC, our experienced trademark attorneys can help you understand the trademark process step by step. We can even help with U.S. trademark filing, U.S. trademark responses, and U.S. trademark renewals at a price you can actually afford. That way, you can make an informed decision regarding your business without having to break the bank.
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Sausser Summers, PC: Simplifying the U.S. Trademark Process
Hiring an attorney can be a daunting task, but at Sausser Summers, PC, our goal is to make the process as simple and seamless as possible for you. That's why we offer a straightforward checkout service. First, you choose your flat fee trademark service and fill out a short questionnaire. Then, we will contact you within 24 hours to discuss the details of our service. From there, one of our experienced trademark attorneys will get to work on your behalf.
Using a trademark attorney for filing in Laval, Quebec, can significantly increase your chances of a successful registration. The U.S. government recommends hiring a trademark attorney to help with your application, and our team of trademark lawyers is dedicated to meeting your needs. In fact, we help ensure your application is filed correctly the first time so you can get on with your life and avoid legal risks.
At Sausser Summers, PC, we work closely with our clients to understand their needs and provide them with sound professional advice. We never offer incomplete services, such as simply filing for registration, because that would leave you open to legal risks. You can rely on us to handle your intellectual property matters, and our flat fee services can help protect your business in a simple, straightforward, and affordable way. It's really that simple.
In terms of filing a U.S. trademark, we provide an easy three-step process to protect your intellectual property:
1. You provide your trademark info to our team via an online form.
2. Our team performs a comprehensive trademark search. This search ensures that no other marks will prevent you from registering your trademark in the U.S. Once performed, we'll send you a legal opinion letter that details our findings.
3. Sausser Summers, PC, files your U.S. trademark application. We are then listed as your Attorney of Record on file. From there, we'll provide ongoing updates regarding the status of your trademark as it works through the registration process.
The bottom line? At Sausser Summers, PC, we give both new and seasoned business owners an easy, efficient, cost-effective way to protect the one asset that sets them apart from others: their name.
The bottom line?
At Sausser Summers, PC, we give both new and seasoned business owners an easy, efficient, cost-effective way to protect the one asset that sets them apart from others: their name.
Do I Really Need a Trademark Attorney for Protecting My Business in Laval, Quebec?
It's not necessary to be a lawyer in order to apply for a trademark. Anyone can submit a trademark application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). However, registering a trademark involves more than just filling out a form. It's essential to conduct thorough research, accurately identify and clearly explain your trademark to ensure it receives adequate protection. And even after securing a trademark, you've got to monitor it consistently to make sure it's free from infringement.
The big takeaway here is that it's always a good idea to work with a trademark attorney to protect the intellectual property that you've worked so hard to establish. According to the Wall Street Journal, applicants are approximately 50% more likely to secure their trademark than people who file applications on their own. If your trademark application is rejected by the USPTO, you will need to revise and refile it, incurring additional filing fees. To avoid delays and extra costs, it is best to have a trademark lawyer help you get it right the first time.
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us (843) 654-0078Additional Benefits of Using a Trademark Attorney
Great trademark attorneys (like those you'll find at Sausser Summers, PC) will help with every step of filing and enforcing your trademark. Some additional benefits include the following:
Check to see if your proposed trademark is registered by another entity.
Conduct research to see if another business is using the trademark for which you're applying.
Provide advice and guidance on the strength of your trademark.
Draft and submit your trademark applications and application revisions.
Advice and guidance regarding trademark maintenance and protection.
Monitor the market for unauthorized use of your trademark.
Trademark enforcement to protect you against infringement.
Curious whether our trademark attorney services are right for you and your business? Contact Sausser Summer, PC, today. Let's talk about what you need, and how we can help.
What About Online Filing Services?
Online services, can provide you with basic assistance in filing your trademark. However, they will never be a legitimate substitute for an experienced trademark attorney helping clients in Laval, Quebec.
Although online filing services offer a step-by-step process, they take a one-size-fits-all approach to preparing legal documents. Even their advanced service only provides basic attorney assistance in completing your paperwork and helping with minor roadblocks. Online filing services' disclaimer highlights the many limitations of its services, including the fact that communications are not protected by attorney-client privilege. In addition, online filing services cannot provide advice, explanations, opinions, recommendations, or any kind of legal guidance on possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms or strategies.
In other words, online filing services can offer you the necessary forms and point you in the right direction, but they cannot customize their services to your specific needs or help you with serious complications that may arise.
For the most comprehensive trademark service and protection, it's always wise to work with highly rated trademark lawyers, like you'll find at Sausser Summers, PC.
Understanding Trademarks Over Time
Trademarks in the U.S. can last indefinitely, but did you know that clients in Laval, Quebec can file a trademark online, only to lose protection in some circumstances? Trademarks differ from patents and copyrights in that they do not have an expiration date. However, to prevent the cancellation of a trademark, you must maintain it. To ensure that your trademark remains protected, you must actively use it in commerce and renew it with the USPTO every ten years.
The Lanham Act tells us that "use in commerce" is the legitimate use of a trademark in the ordinary course of trade. In other words, you cannot register a trademark solely to reserve the rights to it in the future. In most cases, a trademark must be used continuously in connection with the goods or services it is registered for.
Steps to Renew Your Trademark
Trademarks are registered with the USPTO and generally need to be renewed every ten years. However, there is one crucial exception that you should be aware of. Within the first ten years of owning a trademark, you must file for renewal between the fifth and sixth year from the date of your initial registration.
During this renewal period, you are required to submit a Section 8 declaration, a specimen that shows how the mark is being used, and pay the required fee. You can also apply for Section 15 Incontestability status, which can strengthen your trademark rights. This application, although not mandatory, can make it harder for others to challenge your ownership of the mark.
After the first renewal, which falls between the fifth and sixth year of ownership, the next renewal filing is due between the ninth and tenth year, and then every tenth year thereafter. In the ninth year you will need to file a Section 8 declaration, attesting to your use of the mark or excusable nonuse. You've also got to file a Section 9 renewal application before the end of the tenth year to keep your registration active.
It is worth noting that the USPTO provides a six-month grace period if you fail to renew your mark within the required time frame, but it is best not to rely on it. If you don't file within the grace period time limits, the USPTO will cancel and expire your mark.
By hiring trademark attorneys helping clients in Laval, Quebec, you can avoid the pitfalls and mistakes that can arise and cause you to lose your rights to the mark that represents it.
Losing Your Trademark Rights Through Abandonment
In the event that you stop using your trademark and have no plans to resume using it in commerce, it may be considered abandoned by the USPTO. This could result in the loss of your protective rights to the mark. Typically, a trademark is assumed to be abandoned if it has not been used for three years. However, you may be able to refute this presumption by providing evidence that you intend to use the mark again in the future.
Losing Your Trademark Rights Through Inappropriate Licensing
In addition to trademark abandonment, you should also be wary of improper licensing. It's important to remember that once you allow someone else to use your trademark, you must keep an eye on how they use it. You should monitor the products or services that feature your trademark to ensure that they meet consumers' expectations in terms of quality. Failure to do so can lead to a "naked" trademark license and the loss of your protective trademark rights.
How to Avoid Having to Refile Your Trademark
If you're wondering how you can avoid refiling your trademark, the answer is simple: file it correctly the first time around. Filing a trademark isn't inherently difficult, but when doing so, it's very important that certain aspects are filled out accurately in your application. If any information is missing or incorrect, the trademark application may be considered "void ab initio" or void from the beginning, requiring you to file again.
To avoid this, make sure that the information you provide in the application is accurate and complete, including the ownership of the trademark. For instance, if a corporation has multiple shareholders, it should not file under the President's personal name. The rightful owner should be the one/entity that ultimately controls the trademark and the associated goods/services.
It is also important to ensure that the goods and/or services description is precise. For example, if you sell electronic products, you should not file for research and development services despite having a research and development department. The goods/services description should reflect the goods/services you offer to customers, not the departments within your business.
Additionally, providing accurate dates of first use when filing for a trademark is crucial. The USPTO requires two dates to be specified - the date of first use anywhere and the date of first use in interstate commerce. Contact our trademark law office today to learn more about having accurate dates on your filing paperwork.
What Makes an Online Trademark Attorney Great?
At Sausser Summers, PC, we often get questions about how to distinguish run-of-the-mill consultants and others from great trademark attorneys. After all - when you're looking for an attorney to file or prosecute your business trademark, you should know their qualifications. Here are three ways you can separate the proverbial wheat from the chaff when it comes to trademark attorneys.
It's crucial to seek legal advice from a licensed trademark lawyer rather than relying on advice from non-professionals like trademark consultants. The USPTO even recommends hiring an attorney to help with the trademark process. Although trademark consultants may provide advice on trademark availability or name marketability, they cannot file the trademark for you or offer legal advice. According to the Rules of Practicing in trademark cases, "Individuals who are not attorneys are not recognized to practice before the Office in trademark matters." This rule applies to individuals who assist trademark applicants.
When searching for a trademark attorney, it's important to find someone with a strong background in trademark law. Look for an attorney who specializes in this area and has significant experience handling trademark-related cases. Avoid lawyers who don't have expertise in this field, as they may not be able to provide the guidance and support you need.
Ensure your attorney provides updates throughout the trademark registration process to avoid missing deadlines, including responding to any Office actions within six months. Failure to do so can result in trademark abandonment. The USPTO will only correspond with the listed attorney of record, so make sure your attorney keeps you informed.
In summary:
- Be sure you're using a licensed trademark attorney helping clients in Laval, Quebec.
- It's best to work with a trademark lawyer who has years of experience filing trademarks.
- Ensure that your trademark lawyer is willing to provide ongoing notifications relating to your trademark application process.
Trademark Attorneys Working Hard for You
Building your brand and gaining recognition for it is a significant achievement, and it's important to protect it. However, there are certain pitfalls and mistakes that can arise, causing you to lose your rights to the mark that represents it. By working with knowledgeable trademark attorneys, you can avoid these issues and file your trademark successfully.
With an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Sausser Summers, PC, offers comprehensive guidance, strategic advice, and reliable representation for a variety of trademark matters. Our attorneys have years of real-world experience and, having registered countless trademarks with the USPTO, provide our clients with individualized representation when they need it most.
If you're looking for skilled, adept, and experienced counsel, look no further than our trademark law firm. Contact us today to schedule your initial consultation and learn how we can help you safeguard your brand.
Latest News in Laval, Quebec
Quebec liqueur company caught in crossfire of U.S. alcohol ban
Cassandra Yanez-Leytonhttps://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ls-cream-liqueur-saq-us-alcohol-ban-1.7480593
A liqueur company says it's been bottled up with its American counterparts and pulled from SAQ store shelves — despite being based in Laval, Que.The founder of LS Cream Liqueur, Stevens Charles, says he started receiving concerned text messages from customers unable to find the Haitian-style drink after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs came into effect last week."The way that it looks right now, it looks like LS Cream is part of the problem," he told CBC's Daybreak.Though headquartered in Laval, Char...
A liqueur company says it's been bottled up with its American counterparts and pulled from SAQ store shelves — despite being based in Laval, Que.
The founder of LS Cream Liqueur, Stevens Charles, says he started receiving concerned text messages from customers unable to find the Haitian-style drink after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs came into effect last week.
"The way that it looks right now, it looks like LS Cream is part of the problem," he told CBC's Daybreak.
Though headquartered in Laval, Charles says the company bottles its product in the U.S., a decision it made after it struggled to enter the Quebec market via the call for tender process when it was starting out around 2014.
After a year in business, Charles says the province's liquor board, the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ), began placing orders for his product.
"We've been a fairly good success for all those years because as you know, if you don't perform, they never reorder again. And we've been selling out all our orders ever since," he said.
The cream liqueur is inspired by the Haitian celebratory drink crémas, which is infused with nutmeg, cinnamon, star anise, among other ingredients reminiscent of the holidays.
The SAQ, for its part, says it considers LS Cream Liqueur to be a U.S. product, reiterating the statement it issued when the Quebec government asked it to pull American alcohol from its shelves.
The removal "includes wines, spirits, locally bottled American products, and beers in transit intended for brewers," according to the statement.
LS Cream is produced in Buffalo, N.Y., bottled in Florida, then shipped to a depot in New Jersey where the SAQ typically picks it up for import to Canada.
LISTEN | How the alcohol ban is affecting a Laval-based company:
Daybreak Montreal9:11Why was a Quebec-based liqueur company removed from SAQ shelves?
The SAQ has withdrawn all US products from its shelves at the request of the provincial government - but one Quebec-based company is saying they have cast too wide a net. Stevens Charles is the founder of LS Cream Liqueur, a Haitian-inspired liqueur. He spoke with Daybreak's Sean Henry.
Charles says he's reached out to the board about his unique situation but says he hasn't heard back, adding that he hopes a compromise can be reached. He says that he understands the ban but hopes the board can see that his is not the "embodiment of a U.S.-based company."
Last year, the board featured an interview with Charles and his co-founder Myriam Jean-Baptiste on its site highlighting them for Black History Month.
"We're Haitian-Canadians that bottle [an] ancestral recipe from Haiti. That's the story. We're not a chameleon, we're not trying to be Canadian here, U.S. there."
Charles, who lives with his family in Laval, says he's looking into possibly adding operations in Canada, but says it's complicated.
"If everything was easy we would have done it a long time ago, but unfortunately, it's not."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Journalist
Cassandra Yanez-Leyton is a journalist for CBC News based in Montreal. You can email her story ideas at cassandra.yanez-leyton@cbc.ca.
With files from CBC Daybreak
Quebec Government Extends LMIA Suspension in Montreal and Laval
CIC TIMEShttps://www.cictimes.com/quebec-government-extends-lmia-suspension-in-montreal-and-laval
Quebec has announced an extension of its suspension on Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) for low-wage positions under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program by nine months. The policy is now set to expand beyond Montreal and will now include Laval.It will mark a significant development in Quebec PNP by managing temporary foreign workers. Previously, the Quebec government had announced the suspension of LMIAs until March 3, 2025, for low-wage temporary foreign workers.On 27 February 2025, Jean-François Roberge, the i...
Quebec has announced an extension of its suspension on Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) for low-wage positions under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program by nine months. The policy is now set to expand beyond Montreal and will now include Laval.
It will mark a significant development in Quebec PNP by managing temporary foreign workers. Previously, the Quebec government had announced the suspension of LMIAs until March 3, 2025, for low-wage temporary foreign workers.
On 27 February 2025, Jean-François Roberge, the immigration minister announced that the measure will now remain in place until November 30, 2025. The province is reinforcing its commitment to managing Quebec immigration, and labor market dynamics.
It will be started on March 3, 2025, and this suspension will impact employers looking to hire temporary foreign workers in low-wage positions under the following conditions:
Any LMIA applications that fall under these criteria should not be submitted, as they will not be processed while the suspension remains in place.
Despite the extended suspension, certain industries remain exempt. Employers in the following sectors, as classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), can still apply for LMIAs:
Furthermore, LMIA applications that were submitted before September 3, 2024, or have already been approved, will not be impacted by the new extension.
Quebec has been actively working on strategies to regulate the number of temporary residents in the province. Alongside the LMIA suspension, a cap on international student applications aligns with its broader efforts to manage temporary resident admissions.
For the first time, the province is incorporating temporary resident targets into its upcoming Immigration Levels Plan. This follows a series of immigration policy adjustments in 2024, which have significantly influenced prospective immigrants, and temporary foreign workers.
Quebec’s decision to restrict low-wage LMIA processing aligns with federal policies introduced last year. On September 26, 2024, the Canadian federal government implemented a pause on processing low-wage LMIA applications in census metropolitan areas (CMAs).
The federal government updates its list of affected CMAs quarterly, with the next revision scheduled for Quebec Occupation In Demand List on April 4, 2025. Notably, exceptions apply to specific sectors, including agriculture, food processing, construction, and healthcare.
Quebec's decision to extend and expand the LMIA suspension underscores its commitment to balancing the needs of the labor market with its broader immigration policies. Employers and foreign workers alike must stay informed about these evolving regulations to know the changing landscape effectively.
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Source: quebec.ca
Tags: Quebec immigration program Quebec immigration Quebec Occupation In Demand List Immigrate to Quebec Quebec Skilled Worker Program Quebec immigration news Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Quebec extends suspension of low-wage LMIAs in Montreal, adds Laval
Janice Rodrigueshttps://www.cicnews.com/2025/03/quebec-extends-suspension-of-low-wage-lmias-in-montreal-adds-laval-0352153.html
Quebec is extending its suspension of Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program by nine months.As per an announcement by Jean-François Roberge, Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, on February 27, 2025, the suspension will be extended until November 30, 2025.Schedule a Free Work Permit Consultatio...
Quebec is extending its suspension of Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program by nine months.
As per an announcement by Jean-François Roberge, Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, on February 27, 2025, the suspension will be extended until November 30, 2025.
Schedule a Free Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm
Moreover, this measure has now been expanded to other parts of the province. While it previously applied to jobs in the administrative region of Montreal, starting on March 3, the suspension will also include the administrative region of Laval.
In August 2024, Quebec announced that it would be suspending LMIA processing for some low-wage TFWP jobs in Montreal for six months, starting September 3. At the time, this temporary measure was set to be in place until March 3, 2025.
Whom does this extension impact?
Starting March 3, this suspension will impact jobs
LMIA applications that fall under the above mentioned criteria should not be submitted while the suspension remains in effect. If submitted, they will not be processed.
Exceptions
This suspension does not apply to
LMIA applications that have already been approved, or that were received before September 3, 2024 are also not affected.
Recent immigration changes in Quebec
The province has been implementing measures to reduce the number of temporary residents over the last few months.
On February 27, 2025, Quebec also announced that it would implement a cap on the number of international student applications.
This year, the province has announced that it will be taking temporary resident admissions targets into consideration for the first time during its upcoming Immigration Levels Plan.
Last year, Quebec implemented numerous changes which impact prospective immigration candidates, international students, and those navigating immigration pathways in 2025.
Federal government's suspension of processing low-wage LMIAs in specific regions
Shortly after Quebec restricted processing of low-wage LMIAs in Montreal, the federal government of Canada announced similar measures.
On September 26, 2024, the Canadian government paused processing of LMIAs for the low-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in census metropolitan areas (CMAs) where the unemployment rate is higher than 6%.
The federal government updates a list of CMAs with an unemployment rates over 6% quarterly. The next update is expected on April 4, 2025.
Exceptions are made for seasonal and non-seasonal jobs in food security sectors (primary agriculture, food processing, and fish processing), as well as construction and healthcare.
Schedule a Free Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm
‘Stop buying from Amazon:’ Union demands boycott of retailer giant after thousands of Quebec layoffs
Kelsey Pattersonhttps://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/04/stop-buying-amazon-union-boycott-quebec-layoffs/
The union representing the workers at an Amazon warehouse in Laval that is closing – one of seven Quebec Amazon warehouses shutting its doors and laying off all employees – says it’s time to boycott the online retailer.The Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) also says legal action against Amazon is on the way.The CSN is calling on the federal, provincial and municipal governments, as well as public and parapublic agencies, to “stop buying from Amazon and to cancel all contracts with...
The union representing the workers at an Amazon warehouse in Laval that is closing – one of seven Quebec Amazon warehouses shutting its doors and laying off all employees – says it’s time to boycott the online retailer.
The Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) also says legal action against Amazon is on the way.
The CSN is calling on the federal, provincial and municipal governments, as well as public and parapublic agencies, to “stop buying from Amazon and to cancel all contracts with Amazon and its subsidiaries, including cloud services.”
It’s also asking Quebecers to boycott Amazon by not using its online shopping platform, and by cancelling Amazon Prime subscriptions.
“It is also a message of support to all businesses in Quebec, to all the main streets in Quebec, to all the shopping centres in Quebec to tell them, ‘we support you.’ Because you are there with us and you keep your business with Quebec,” said CSN president Caroline Senneville on Tuesday.
It comes after Amazon announced two weeks ago it was closing its operations in Quebec – shutting down warehouses in Laval, Lachine, Longueuil, and Côteaux-du-Lac.
The announced layoffs are in the thousands, with initial figures suggesting some 2,000 regular employees and temporary seasonal workers were losing their jobs in the next two months.
That figure ballooned in the subsequent days, with Quebec’s Labour Ministry believing an additional 2,500 people employed by smaller carriers subcontracted by the company are also losing their jobs following Amazon’s decision.
In a statement to CityNews Tuesday, Quebec’s Labour Ministry says 4,624 people have been laid off, as of Monday. That number is expected to grow as the Ministry waits for numbers from one more delivery company.
“I really appreciate the ‘boycott Amazon,’ the new citizen initiative,” said Wesley Marceau, a Laval warehouse vice-president of health and safety. “I think it’s a really great idea, and I think that we have to continue the fight and keep the groundwork.”
A union certification was recently obtained by employees at Amazon’s Laval DXT4 warehouse, becoming the first of the tech company’s Canadian warehouses to unionize.
Uguelin Jean-Baptiste, who worked at the DXT4 warehouse for about two years, broke down to CityNews why 200 of the workers unionized.
“There were hundreds of injuries in a span of about two to three months,” Jean-Baptiste revealed. “That’s an exaggerated number in my opinion. The workers had to go see doctors and do physiotherapy because it’s an extremely physically demanding job.
“If we are asking for better working conditions, it’s to avoid injuries, and to demand better wages appropriate to the job. And for that Amazon decided to close its doors. To me, that’s against human rights.”
Amazon never said the decision to close Quebec’s warehouses was linked to the Laval unionization effort – saying instead it was about increasing efficiency – but the CSN firmly believes unionization was the catalyst for the move.
“They’re not fooling anyone,” said Senneville. “The only reason for Amazon to have a different business model just for Quebec is that there’s a union here and an arbitrator could have imposed a first collective agreement as early as the summer of 2025.”
CityNews reached out to Amazon for comment but did not immediately hear back.
“The CSN say it’s because of the anti-union tactics, but the company says because financial issues,” said Michael Cordova, an Amazon warehouse employee in Lachine.
Now the CSN says it will petition the court to cancel the layoffs; order the reopening of the warehouses; reinstate the 1,700 Amazon employees; and pay compensation and damages.
“What it calls its ‘new business model’ is just an attempt to circumvent its obligations under the Labour Code,” Senneville said. “The court should recognize that this scheme violates the law and it can then order the reinstatement of Amazon’s workers.
“We’re going to do a pursuit against mainly two articles of our labour code, 12 and 13. … It stops businesses, employers from interfering with the creation of the unionization process, and not to intimidate.”
The CSN is planning an anti-Amazon demonstration in Montreal — beginning at Mont-Royal metro — on Feb. 15 at 1 p.m.
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