Wise Insights

License to Bill – Properly Licensing a Trademark

Your brand is booming and your business is a huge success. You need a business expansion plan, or to sell to someone who can execute one. You don’t want to sell. You are not ready to franchise. What options do you have?

Many brand owners decide to license their trademarks to third parties as a means to grow.

Canada – A Proprietary History

The first legislation in Canada pertaining to trademark protection was the Trade Mark and Design Act, enacted in 1868. Since then, there have been a number of developments in Canadian trademark law, including the passing of the Trade-marks Act which currently governs trademark law in Canada, and the integration of the Newfoundland Trademark Register in 1949 when the province became part of Canada.

Louis Vuitton fails to see the humour – My Other Bag succeeds with parody defense.

Louis Vuitton Advised to “Smile or Laugh”, Not Sue

We have all seen the bumper sticker: My other car is a Porsche.

And the bag: My other bag is a Louis Vuitton.

Do they make you feel any less of Porsche or Louis Vuitton?

A U.S. District Court Judge has found that My Other Bag’s use of Louis Vuitton on its canvas totes does not amount to trademark infringement.

Second Quarter – Redskins on the Defence

Update on the Washington Redskins Trademark dispute

As was discussed in our previous blog here, Section 2(a) of the Lanham (Trademark) Act (U.S.) prohibits the registration of trademarks which are scandalous, immoral, or disparaging. In July 2014, six federal trademarks belonging to the Washington Redskins were cancelled as each of the six marks were found by the Federal Court to be disparaging to Native Americans.

Rob Wise Appointed to IPIC Trademark Practice Committee

We are pleased to announce that Robert J. Wise Robert has been appointed to serve on the Trademark Practice Committee of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada. The committee identifies problems of policy or practice which relate to practice before the Trademarks Office, alerts the Trademarks Office, and seeks improvements via discussion of the issues in writing or by meeting with representatives of the Office.