A groundbreaking decision today by the Canadian Federal Court now allows the registration of sounds as trademarks, and paved the way for other non-traditional trademarks. In 1992 Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios (MGM) applied to trademark the lion roar that occurs during their…
Read More
Jeremy Lin, a recent young protege and rising star in the NBA, has gained Lin-stant fame for his amazing skills on the basketball court. The sudden and viral effects of his debut into the sport has coined the term "Lin-sanity".…
Read More
An Ontario pastry chef quickly learned that trademarking her business was the sweetest thing she ever did. Here is the complete story. Stephanie Pick began operating a pastry store in Toronto in 1998. She then trademarked her business name, QUEEN…
Read More
A recent media article outlines the absolute power of trademark registration in Canada (and a really good reason why you should get one!). See here for the story. Target Corp. (the US department store) bought the rights to enter into…
Read More
The protection that registration lends to your business is important. Let's recap what benefits you receive, only through registration: 1. Exclusive right to use the trademark across Canada rather than certain areas where you carry on business 2. The additional…
Read More
Molson CANADIAN. It's a pretty common name in Canadian beer. And initially, it wasn't able to be registered as a trade-mark! Why not? First and foremost, a trade-mark can not be purely descriptive of the wares which are being sold. …
Read More
What makes a good trade-mark? If you were to sneeze, would you reach for a KLEENEX? Chances are that you may not actually be reaching for a KLEENEX but in fact just a regular tissue, perhaps from another brand, like…
Read More
Let's talk about what makes a good trade-mark. An instantly descriptive trade-mark like GREENLAWNZ (for a lawn care business) might sound appealing at first. It will catch the consumer's attention and they should easily be able to identify the wares…
Read More
According to a press release from the General Court of the European Union dated September 20, 2011, the former Soviet Coat of Arms can not be trade-marked in the European Union. The Coat of Arms and other former Soviet symbols…
Read More
The proper use of your trade-mark is critical to its defensibility and maintenance on the register. If it is not used properly, a third party is able to challenge it and strike it from the register (See my previous post…
Read More