CanExport and Intellectual Property Protection Can Help You with Your Legal Fees

published 04/17/2024

Updated for 2024

The CanExport program is a popular Canadian government grant that supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) registered in Canada that are seeking to develop new export opportunities and markets, especially high-growth emerging markets. If you are a business person who is interested in intellectual property protection, certification, or adaptation of contracts for target market(s), CanExport can assist with associated expenses.

 The CanExport program assists in covering some of the following expenses:

• application fees to local authorities for the protection of intellectual property (trademarks, patents, copyright, etc.) in target market(s).
• adaptation and translation of contractual agreements (sales contract, distribution agreement, licence agreement, services agreement, etc.) for the target market(s).
• the cost of seeking legal, tax, or business advice specifically related to the target market(s).
• the cost of engaging expert advice on regulatory issues for the target market(s), including on market access, intellectual property, trademarks, patents and certification.

The program funds projects that have the potential to contribute significantly to Canada's economic growth by providing up to $50,000 to SMEs registered in Canada for international business development activities.

To be considered for funding, the applicant must satisfy all of the following criteria:

• be a for-profit company;
• be an incorporated legal entity or a limited liability partnership (LLP) in Canada;
• have a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) business number, but some exceptions exist;
• have no more than 500 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees; and
• have no less than $100,000 and no more than $100 million in annual revenue declared in Canada during its last complete tax reporting year (or during the last 12 months for monthly and quarterly filers).

Applications are being accepted from February 29, 2024, at 9am EST, to May 31, 2024, at 5pm EDT for projects beginning on or after April 1, 2024. Learn more here.

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