Food for thought – The Making Healthier Choices Act

Before venturing into a restaurant or food-related business, it would be wise to become familiar with the new Healthy Menu Choices Act (the “Act”).

The Act originates from the Ontario Legislature’s Making Healthier Choices Act 2015 which enacts a number of other acts and amendments which form part of the provincial government’s overall plan to enhance public health.

Registered Trademarks – Your Trump Card

Business owners are often hesitant to register their trademarks and are unaware that failing to do so could expose their business to greater expenses than those associated with trademark registration. A competitor with a registered trademark has the right to force a business to stop using an unregistered trademark if it is confusingly similar to their registered trademark.

Immoral Trademarks

Most trademark owners are aware that their trademark may be opposed or challenged on the basis that it is descriptive, generic or confusingly similar to another registered trademark.  Less well known is the fact that trademarks can be invalidated or expunged if they are obscene, immoral, deceptive, or scandalous.

Staying Onside with FIFA: Trademarks and the World Cup

The World Cup attracts some of the biggest brand name sponsors in the world including Adidas, MacDonald’s, Sony and Budweiser.   FIFA official partners reportedly pay $20-50 million per event to take part as sponsors in the World Cup. This year the total financial contributions to FIFA by the 20 official business partners of the World Cup reached an estimated $1.4 billion.

Meaty Legislation Cans Spam in Canada

Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation

Many of our clients engage in sending newsletters by email to their audiences. If you use such communication methods, you will want to pay attention to Canada’s new Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) that comes into force July 1, 2014.

The aim of CASL is to put an end to unsolicited messages that flood recipients’ inboxes on a daily basis.

A Wise Choice – New all-encompassing Trademark and Brand Protection Services from WISES

Effective brand development and protection goes far beyond trademark registration.  Intellectual property rights are just one element of a brand.  As a business operator, you must the elements of your brand that you have secured legal rights to are the same elements that resonate with the market.