Blog

In this blog we deal with recent developments concerning trademarks, copyright and other laws that have a direct impact on branding and marketing. I have written numerous case comments concerning the leading decisions as well as other short articles. A brief index of the material follows: TRADEMARKS Registrable Three-Dimensional Marks and Utilitarian Function When is a Trademark “Clearly Descriptive”? Place of Origin Acquisition of Rights Get it in Writing! Acquisition of Rig

When two of Canada’s largest providers of inpatient and outpatient mental health and addiction services clashed over the use of the term “GUARDIANS,” the plaintiff sought an interlocutory injunction from Federal Court. This decision highlights the formidable legal hurdles applicants face. Schlegel Health Care Inc. v. Edgewood Health Network Inc. 2025 FC 1639 The Background of the Dispute  The plaintiffs and the defendant are business competitors and are the two largest provid

The Federal Court considered whether the Trademarks Opposition Board was wrong to find that the nearly identical trademarks CHEFS-OWN for bean sprouts and CHEF’S OWN for sauces and seasonings could co-exist because the channels of trade and the nature of the goods were sufficiently dissimilar that confusion was unlikely?  Yat Sun Food Products Ltd. v. Griffith Foods International Inc . 2025 FC 1688 Background of the Dispute  The Applicant owns the registered trademark CHEFS-O

Background In a previous article Section 45 Proceedings and a Change in the Ownership of the Mark we dealt a decision of the Federal Court that considered the impact of the special circumstances exception in section 45 proceedings where there has been a change in the ownership of the mark. Subsection 45(1) allows the Registrar to require that the registered owner of a trademark furnish to the Registrar evidence of use of the mark within the three-year period immediately pre