What is NUANS^®?

NUANS^® is a computerized search system that compares a proposed corporate name or trade-mark with databases of existing corporate bodies and trade-marks. This comparison determines the similarity that exists between the proposed name or mark and existing names in the database, and produces a listing of names that are found to be most similar.

NUANS is a registered trade-mark of the government of Canada. The software and the data is the property of Industry Canada. Hewlett Packard (HP) was awarded the licence in 1996 to administer the NUANS system, which includes day-to-day operation of the system, system maintenance, database updating and the marketing of the NUANS system. The NUANS goals include:

• Quality - Cite all names that conflict with the proposed name in a concise, easily readable report format;
• Economy - Minimize the time and effort required by searching staff in performing the name check function and optimize the use of computer resources required in a name search;
• Consistency - Produce reports, upon which name granting decisions can be made, that are of equal high quality for all names searched without the dangers of human subjectivity;
• Flexibility - Be flexible enough to accommodate the various differences between jurisdictions in legislation concerning the name checking and name granting process. NUANS is currently in use in jurisdictions where name searching is totally privatized, partially privatized or still totally under control of the corporate administrator.

The NUANS approach is to automate the name searching function by having a program with enough "intelligence" to consider all possible criteria for confusion between proposed and existing names. In simple terms, NUANS is a large computer program which provides a complete search, regardless of the name formulation. There are certain programs which perform the phonetic searching, and others do more direct searching dependent on the length of the words. There is a NUANS Dictionary which is composed of descriptive words, a synonym table, and other features to allow a user to enter additional name spellings when inputting a name to be searched.

How Do I Contact the NUANS^® Help Centre?

HP has a toll free number for supporting all of its NUANS^® product offerings. Office hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern time, Monday to Friday.

The NUANS Members support line is 613 591-7108 or toll free 1 888 81-NUANS or 1 888 816-8267.

How Do I Order a NUANS^® Report?

To order a NUANS^® report, you have the option of ordering your own NUANS report in real-time from the NUANS Real-Time System for federal incorporations, or, with the assistance of a NUANS Registered  Member of your choice, to incorporate federally and to incorporate in other jurisdictions.

How Do I Become a NUANS^® Member?

If any person, firm, or other entity wishes to become a NUANS^® member to provide the service of producing NUANS reports for the business community on an ongoing basis, they must:

• sign a NUANS Services Contract with Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co.;
• pay a one time client subscription fee of $125.00;
• pay a minimum monthly fee of $100.00.

To request to be a NUANS member, select one of the following two options:

Ordering a NUANS^® Report

Criteria for NUANS Members Providing Online NUANS^® Services

The "NUANS Members Providing Online NUANS^® Services" link provides to the business community the ability to view and select NUANS Registered Members providing online NUANS services. Only NUANS Members providing the capability of ordering a NUANS report online are listed in this file.

The following is the criteria outlined by Industry Canada, which identifies the conditions that must be met in order for a NUANS Registered Member to be listed:

1. The NUANS Registered Member must be equipped with a Web site.
2. The NUANS Member's Web site must be user friendly and easy to navigate.
3. The business community must be able to request a NUANS name search report from the NUANS Registered Member's Web site.
4. The business community must be clear on all or any NUANS services and costs associated in requesting a NUANS name search report.
5. The business community must be able to receive their completed NUANS report via the Internet, e-mail or by regular mail.

If a NUANS Member believes it meets the criteria outlined by Industry Canada,  it may contact the NUANS Help Centre and request that its Web site be considered, at which point a review of their Web site by Industry Canada will be performed. If the site meets the set criteria, the site will be approved and added to the list of NUANS Registered Members providing online NUANS services.

What Products and Services Does the NUANS Group Offer?

HP has several product offerings to assist both the corporate and Trade-mark communities for searching. The products offered are:

NUANS^® Reports

An Automated search report for searching both corporate names and Trade-marks.

What is the Price Schedule of NUANS^® Products and Services?

This is a transaction-based service, providing reports based upon name search queries. The price quoted is per transaction. In order to access this service, the NUANS^® client must first establish a contractual relationship with HP; provide their own equipment to access the NUANS system; their own operator or system user to submit name search requests; and print the resulting reports. Usage is captured, reported and invoiced monthly. The greater of either the monthly search usage or the monthly minimum administrative charge will apply to each account per month.

NOTE: the client subscription fee applies to this service.

NUANS^® Database Pre-Search System

This online database service is optional. It is a copy of the entire Canadian NUANS^® search base and Canadian Trade-marks. It is a very useful tool for prescreening, and for responding to general inquiries from customers.

NOTE: The minimum monthly charge applies to this service.

This one-time fee covers the initial setup of your NUANS^® account and is invoiced upon commencement of your NUANS service contract.

This fee covers the cost of re-activating service to a suspended NUANS^® account.

NUANS Member Training Course

The NUANS Group provides the following three methods of delivering the NUANS Training Course, which is made available to all NUANS Members upon request:

• Onsite Training
• Virtual Training
• Self Paced Training

These three methods of providing the NUANS Training Course is intended to assist both current and newer Members, in developing a more thorough understanding of the NUANS System. More specifically, it is designed to assist Members in learning how to correctly submit queries to the NUANS System, and offers information on how to properly search names in the NUANS Pre-Search System.

What Types of NUANS^® Reports are Available?

The following report options are available to all NUANS Members.

What Type of Equipment is Needed?

NUANS^® query submissions and report printing are performed from your office via the Internet. Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator are the recommended Web browsers. NUANS reports can be printed on laser printers.

What Kind of Training Does HP Provide?

A NUANS^® online training course is available to NUANS members from their account by clicking on the link "Training Course." This course teaches the various components involved in NUANS. The topics of discussion are:

• NUANS Overview
• The NUANS Internet Site
• System Overview
• Query Formulation
• The NUANS Pre-Search System

A NUANS manual is also available to NUANS members by clicking on the link "Manual" from their account.

How Can I Obtain Documentation?

• A NUANS^® user manual is available online from HP.
• A NUANS training course is available online from HP.
• Corporate name and Trade-mark availability checking regulations and policy information may be obtained from the various government jurisdictions requiring a NUANS search be done for name checking and name reservation.
• Periodic Newsletters are available online from HP.

What are the Internet Settings for NUANS^®?

Supported Web Browsers

These pages are best viewed with the following Web browsers:

Time Zone Settings for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP

Time zone properties should be adjusted according to your operating system:

• double click on the "my computer" icon
• double click on the "control panel" icon
• double click on the "date/time" icon
• select the Time Zone tab
• scroll down to the appropriate time zone for your geographical area
• click OK once completed

Connecting to NUANS^® via the Internet

What is HP's Responsibility ?

HP is responsible for the delivery of NUANS^® services to NUANS customers. The mission statement, "to leverage HP's business and technology infrastructure to help clients meet their business objectives", clearly shows dedication to the services provided. HP has demonstrated its ability to bring business growth as well as client and employee satisfaction. Industry Canada and NUANS users can expect to benefit from this organization.