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.
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.
The new Combating Counterfeit Products Act (the “Act”) is a welcomed change for trademark and copyright owners. The Act has made a number of amendments to both the Copyright Act and Trademark Act, broadening the ambit of what constitutes trademark or copyright infringement.
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.
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.
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.
Proposed housekeeping changes welcome, but the spotlight belongs to troubling fundamental shift.
By Andriy Holuk, Student-at-Law – WISES
Title by Robert J. Wise, Lawyer and Trademark Agent – WISES
Trade-mark law in Canada may soon undergo significant overhauls.
Watch for our blog this week on Bill C-31.
If I was to associate one word with this trademark, it would be “Bauer”.
I can picture the skates that I wore years ago. I can still imagine the textures of the layers of materials.
On April 5, 2013, at the instance of requesting party Easton Sports Canada Inc.
Confusion Will (1) Prevent Registration of Your Trade-Mark and (2) Expose You to Infringement Claims
Many clients come to me having done some initial research into the availability of their proposed trade-mark. However, most do not understand the importance of the concept of confusion plays in analyzing availability.