By Victoria Carrington,
By Ashley Dumouchel,
Trademark
Amending Canada’s Trademark Regime
The proposed amendments to the regulations seek to simplify opposition procedures, and include modifications to measures relating to the examination of trademarks, with the stated intention that transactions between applicants and the Registrar of Trade-marks be streamlined. Feedback from the public has been received and is now being considered by the Trade-marks Office. Read More
By Ashley Dumouchel,
Litigation, Trademark
Quashing a Trademark Registration
For the first time, the Federal Court has granted an order by which a Canadian trademark registration was quashed and the matter was sent back to the Registrar of Trade-marks to consider a Statement of Opposition against the application, where the statement had been filed with the registrar prior to the expiry of the advertisement period, but had not been considered by it (London Life Insurance Company v Registrar of Trade-marks and Debt Freedom Canada Inc). Read More
By Chantal Bertosa,
Litigation, Trademark
Non-Traditional Trademarks Unleashed
As previously reported, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc’s (MGM) 20-year battle to register its sound mark in Canada finally culminated in victory. The iconic lion’s roar claimed its rightful place on the Canadian Trade-marks Register as of July 31, 2012, under registration no. TMA828890 for the MGM Roaring Lion (sound only), opening the door to more than a dozen new sound mark applications — among them the Mockingjay Call from the motion picture ; The Hunger Games, and the ever-familiar Tarzan Yell. These and other sound marks are now accessible through the new ‘Canadian Trade-marks—Access to Sound Marks’ database created by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). Read More
