Opposition

February 9, 2023
Side view of a gray housecat's head against a plain gray background.

FCA Upholds Refusal to Grant “procat” Trademark

2023 FCA 4: The prefix "pro" did little to make Puma's "procat" mark distinctive over Caterpillar's CAT & Triangle Design.
April 20, 2022
Photograph of a doctor holding out small white pills

Data Protections Once Again Prevent Médunik From Launching Pediatric Drug

The Federal Court disagreed with Health Canada's interpretation of data protection regulations, once again reversing approval of pediatric drug RUZURGI.
April 11, 2022
Photograph of a beer tap in a bar showing the brewer's trademark on the label.

Cowbells Brewing Taps Out: Ontario Brewer Denied Rights to Bell Trademark

New trademark registrations can be opposed by business owners who are concerned that the mark would cause confusion with their own registered trademark.
December 29, 2021
Photograph of the "ZARA" trademark in a sign above a Zara storefront.

Trademark Opposition by Fashion Giant ZARA Remitted to Federal Court

The Federal Court of Appeal held that the trial judge cannot intervene in a trademark opposition decision in the absence of any errors by the Board.
October 18, 2021
Photo of a yellow Caterpillar-brand bulldozer against a snowy backdrop.

Caterpillar Scratches Back: Puma Loses Bid to Register ‘procat’ Mark

2021 FC 974: The Federal Court concluded that Puma’s use of procat would likely cause confusion with heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc.’s ‘CAT’ trademark.
September 3, 2020
Photo of a glass, maple-leaf-shaped bottle containing maple syrup.

Learning From Aunt Jemima: Abandoning Offensive Trademarks in Canada

With problematic brands like Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben being dropped, how can brand owners prevent third parties from hijacking the discontinued marks?
December 16, 2019
Photo of the Raptors NBA logo on the court of Scotiabank arena

Clawing Deeper into the Monster v. Raptors Trademark Battle

The Raptors are tipping off against Monster, who allege the Raptors trademark featuring a clawed-up basketball is confusingly similar to the Monster "M".
July 19, 2019
Online shopping, keyboard

Ontario Court Backs American Decision to Penalize Online Counterfeiter

Dead End Survival, LLC v  Marhasin (2019 ONSC 3453) In the era of online shopping, it is easier than ever for counterfeiters to distribute fake consumer […]
June 18, 2019

Raptors Win but Trademark still under Claw

The Raptors may have won the NBA championship but they still have a court battle ahead, this time against popular energy drink Monster Energy.
May 1, 2019
A banker's box filled with files containing evidence

Trademarks and New Evidence on Appeal

2019 FC 406 - FC confirms that registered owner is not precluded to submit new evidence on appeal if no evidence is submitted after receiving s.45 notice from the Registrar.
April 10, 2019

Trademark Expungement: Insufficient Evidence of Use and Lack of Dominant Feature

2018 FC 1261 - Trademarks expunged for lack of evidence establishing use, and for using deviants without the dominant features of the trademark design.
April 9, 2019

FCA Confirms Test To Admit New Evidence on Appeal From TMOB

2019 FCA 63 - FCA confirms long standing test for admission of new evidence in judicial review of TMOB decision.
December 11, 2018

CAFC Confirms That Surnames May Be Registered as Trademarks If They Acquired Distinctiveness

Fed. Cir. 2017-1468 – The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit confirms that surname may be registered as trademark as it acquired distinctiveness.
December 6, 2018

FC Upholds Registrar’s Decision Refusing Confusing Trademark Registration

2018 FC 951 – The FC reiterates that trademarks will not be registered if they are likely to confuse consumers.
November 15, 2018

Canada Will Have New Trademark Law Effective June 17, 2019

Changes coming to Canadian trademark law and the requirement to show use of trademark before registration.