Clark Wilson

Oily Loonie offside Official Mark?

By In Branding, Famous Marks, Legislation

Dogwood Initiative, a British Columbia environmental group, is facing legal action from the Royal Canadian Mint over a campaign to add one million oily loon decals to loonies in circulation.  (For our international readers, “loonie” is the commonly used term used to refer to the Canadian one dollar coin.)  Dogwood’s campaign is intended to create awareness about the risks of oil tanker traffic on BC’s north central coast, in the hopes that legislation might be passed banning such traffic.

The Royal Canadian Mint has alleged Dogwood Initiative’s activities bring it offside the Currency Act, but query whether the Mint may also have an action under the Canadian Trade-marks Act (the "Act"), for infringement of the Mint’s Official Mark rights in the loonie.

Section 9 of the Act deals with Official Marks, and in particular, it prohibits the adoption in connection with a business, as a trade-mark or otherwise, of any mark which consists of, or so nearly resembles as to be mistaken for, an Official Mark. Read more

In Canada, Fraud on the Trademarks Office Requires Actual Fraud – Court Rejects U.S. Doctrine

By In Case Law, Registration

The Federal Court recently made clear that Canadian law does not recognize a rule equivalent to the U.S. doctrine of fraud on the trademark office, pursuant to which any material mistatement in the processing of a registation renders the entire resulting registration void.

In Parfums de Coeur, Ltd. V. Asta the respondent individual filed a trademark application in 1999 based on proposed use of the trademark BOD in association with wares identified as “hair care, namely shampoo conditioner, treatment, styling aids, hairsprays, hairpolish, perms, … .” The respondent subsequently filed a Declaration of Use signed February 12, 2004 declaring that by himself or through a licensee he had commenced use of the trademark in association with all the listed wares. The applicant began selling body sprays in Canada in association with the trademark BOD MAN as early as 2002, but when it sought registration in Canada, the respondent’s mark was cited against it. When challenged regarding his Declaration of Use, the respondent amended the list of wares to read only “hair care, namely shampoo, conditioner”. Read more

Trademark Damages Following Termination of Franchise

By In Case Law, Protection & Enforcement

The British Columbia Supreme Court recently considered the right to damages for the improper use of a trademark following the termination of a franchise agreement. In Fruiticana Produce Ltd. v. 575760 B.C. Ltd. et al., after determining that certain amounts remained unpaid under the  terms of a franchise agreement, the Court also concluded that the franchise agreement had been terminated and the defendants continued to use the trademark FRUITCANA for a period of time following the termination. Nominal damages were calculated on the basis of the formula set out in Louis Vuitton Mulletier S.A. v. 486353 B.C. Ltd. and the Plaintiff awarded $12,000. A permanent injunction was also granted.

A Second Chance to Prove Use of a Trademark

By In Case Law, Registration

Under section 45 of the Trade-marks Act, an applicant, upon receipt of the Registrar’s notice, must provide an affidavit or statutory declaration evidencing use within the previous three years or an acceptable excuse for non-use. In Vêtement Multi-Wear Inc. v. Riches, McKenzie & Herbert LLP, the Applicant failed to provide its attorney with all the information and documents necessary to respond to the section 45 notice and the evidence was not filed in time. Pursuant to section 56, the applicant appealed the Registrar’s determination to expunge the mark, and as allowed under section 56, filed its evidence.

The Court noted that where new evidence (or in this case, the only evidence) is filed on a section 56 appeal, the Federal Court decision is de novo. The Court also noted that the test for “use” under section 45 is not onerous. Thus, the appeal was allowed and the applicant’s trademark, L’AMADEI for use in association with ladies’ clothing, namely skirts, dresses and blouses (but not vests and sweaters) was allowed to remain on the register. The Affidavit evidenced 6 sales to Canadian companies and 10 sales to one American company. The invoices did not use the trademark, but the affidavit explained that the hang tags on the items referenced in the invoices would have used the trademark.

Depreciation A Possible Ground in Opposition Proceedings

By In Case Law, Trademark Oppositions

In Parmalat Canada Inc. v. Sysco Corporation, the Federal Court allowed an application by Parmalat to set aside the Trade-mark Opposition Board’s refusal to amend a statement of opposition to include an additional ground of opposition. Sysco had filed an application on May 3, 2002 to register the trademark, BLACK DIAMOND, in association with various kitchen utensils, chef’s apparel, cooking pots and frying pans. Parmalat had registered various BLACK DIAMOND trademarks in Canada for use since 1933 in association with cheese and other food products. Parmalat originally filed its statement of opposition on May 4, 2004 based on a number of grounds, including confusion with Parmalat’s family of BLACK DIAMOND trademarks.

On June 2, 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Maison Fondee en 1772 v. Boutiques Cliquot Ltée which discussed the depreciation of goodwill contrary to section 22 of the Trade-marks Act. Subsequent to the Veuve Clicquot decision Parmalat sought to amend its statement of opposition to include depreciation of the value of the goodwill attached to its registered trademark, BLACK DIAMOND, as an additional ground of opposition. The Trade-mark Opposition Board dismissed Parmalat’s application for leave to amend on the basis that the inquiry on the issue of depreciation of goodwill was not to be decided in an opposition hearing; instead, the Federal Court had jurisdiction to decide the issue. Read more

Copyright? Wrong! Oshawa Councillor Misses the “Mark”

By In Branding, Famous Marks, Protection & Enforcement, Registration

An Oshawa, Ontario Regional Councillor, Robert Lutczyk, recently made a brazen attempt to claim copyright in the name “University of Ontario Institute of Technology”. Lutczyk registered copyright in the name of the University and then tried to use his registration to prevent the publication "Oshawa This Week" from using the name in an article, threatening legal action if they did not comply. Lutczyk’s attempt to assert copyright appears wrong on several points.

First, there is no copyright in a name. Copyright in Canada is governed by the Copyright Act and arises in literary, artistic, dramatic and musical works. A name, without more, does not fall under the definition of a work. Read more

Flattery is Still Infringement

By In Famous Marks, Registration

A story in the Globe and Mail this week illustrates that the use of a popular logo may be a form of flattery to the owner, but the owner will still be concerned about infringement of its IP rights. Gordon DeRosa, after 21 years of public service, is again running for re-election to the Trail City Council, Trail being a community of 8000 in the interior of British Columbia. Mr. DeRosa’s election signs used the well known Energizer Bunny, and the slogan “Re-elect DeRosa, Still Energized”. The Eveready Battery Company, which owns an extensive trademark portfolio in Canada, sent a cease and desist letter to Mr. DeRosa, advising that the use of the Energizer trademarks constituted violations of the company’s IP rights. Mr. DeRosa has taken down his election signs.

If a lawsuit had ensued it might have been argued that Mr. DeRosa was not using any trademarks in association with wares and services since he was running for political office, but presumably Eveready would have succeeded on the basis of copyright infringement.