Trademark
A trademark is a word or logo used by one person to distinguish goods or services provided by that person from those provided by another. The interest protected by a trademark is the “goodwill” of the trademark owner and the consumer’s ability to rely on the mark to distinguish the source of goods or services.
February 9, 2023
2023 FCA 4: The prefix "pro" did little to make Puma's "procat" mark distinctive over Caterpillar's CAT & Triangle Design.
April 11, 2022
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
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.
November 3, 2021
SCC #39576: Earlier this year, Travelway filed for leave to appeal with the Supreme Court of Canada over a trademark dispute with Wenger, the makers of Swiss Gear.
October 18, 2021
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.
December 18, 2020
2020 FCA 210: Court held that parties are not entitled to damages or an accounting of profits following the expungement of an infringing trademark.
November 9, 2020
SCC 39144 : Supreme Court of Canada confirms an appellate ruling which found that, while official marks cannot eliminate rights under prior registrations.
September 3, 2020
With problematic brands like Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben being dropped, how can brand owners prevent third parties from hijacking the discontinued marks?
June 4, 2020
The Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”) has clarified how Vavilov's standard of review will apply to decisions made by the Trademarks Opposition Board (“TMOB”).
April 3, 2020
In this article, we explain how the intellectual property offices in Canada and the United States are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
January 23, 2020
2019 SCC 65, 2019 SCC 66 - The new standard of review will be applied to decisions by the Patent Office, Trademark Office, PAB, and TTAB.
January 17, 2020
Because of the status of cannabis and trademark laws in the US, brand owners are looking to Canada to register their cannabis trademarks.
January 2, 2020
Nearly 30 years after founding the streetwear brand FUCT, Erik Brunetti finally convinced SCOTUS to end a ban on "immoral" or "scandalous" trademarks.
December 16, 2019
The Raptors are tipping off against Monster, who allege the Raptors trademark featuring a clawed-up basketball is confusingly similar to the Monster "M".
August 16, 2019
SCOTUS, No. 18-302 (Iancu v Brunetti): In a recent decision, the US Supreme Court abolished the longstanding ban on registering vulgar and offensive words as trademarks.
July 19, 2019
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 28, 2019
June has been international pride month where rainbow flags are raised in unity, including at PCK Intellectual Property.
June 18, 2019
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
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
2018 FC 1261 - Trademarks expunged for lack of evidence establishing use, and for using deviants without the dominant features of the trademark design.