Two words, uttered in a certain tone and with a certain speed, are apt to suggest a bit of wastefulness, a touch of anarchy, and yet a sense of communal participation. Those two words, from Faber College of lore to present discussions of law: Food Fight!!!!!. And, we see the long smoldering discussions of geographical … Continue Reading
In a recent decision of the Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”), the FCA took the rare opportunity to consider an appeal from a section 45 expungement proceeding. In One Group LLC v Gouverneur Inc, the FCA reviewed the Registrar’s decision not to expunge One Group LLC’s (“One Group”) trade-mark registration for STK (the “Mark”) on … Continue Reading
The internet’s sheer breadth often gives the impression that it transcends local legal jurisdictions. As commerce and trade become increasingly electronic ventures, courts now grapple with how to enforce orders against parties not operating within traditional physical jurisdictions. In June, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (the “Court”) in Equustek Solutions Inc. v. Google Inc., … Continue Reading
Introduction The world has “internationalised” at an astonishing rate in the last 20 to 30 years. People are better travelled and are familiar with overseas hotels, restaurants and media. And it is the same with consumer brands: in the UK we are as familiar with Hershey’s chocolate from the US and Vegemite spread from Australia … Continue Reading
The Federal Court of Canada recently had occasion to consider a case involving both copyright and trademark issues with a distinctly international flavour. At issue was a Punjabi-language subscription daily newspaper called AJIT DAILY, published in India, and a free weekly newspaper published in Canada called AJIT WEEKLY. The Plaintiff’s AJIT newspaper started publication in … Continue Reading
On December 9, 2014 Royal Assent was given to Bill C-8, the Combating Counterfeit Products Act. The intention of Bill C-8 is to give the government and holders of trade-marks and copyrights new mechanisms for enforcement, along with substantial remedies, in order to combat counterfeit and black-market goods. Before the introduction of Bill C-8, Canada had … Continue Reading
