Famous Trade-marks in Canada: Summary of the Principles

F
AMOUSTRADE-MARKSINCANADA:
SUMMARYOFTHEPRINCIPLES

ALEXANDRASTEELE*
LEGERROBICRICHARD,
LLP
L
AWYERS,PATENT&TRADEMARKAGENTS
I.DEFINITION:TRADE-MARK

•Ref.s.2Trade-MarksAct,R.S.C.1985c.T-13(hereinafter“TMA”):

“trade-mark”means
(a)amarkthatisusedbyapersonforthepurposeofdistinguishingorso
astodistinguishwaresorservicesmanufactured,sold,leased,hiredor
performedbyhimfromthosemanufactured,sold,leased,hiredor
performedbyothers,
(b)acertificationmark,
(c)adistinguishingguise,or
(d)aproposedtrade-mark;

•Atrade-markcanbeaword,adesign,asymbol,amodeofwrappingor
packaging,theconfigurationofanobjectoranyothertypeofindicia,or
combinationofindicia,thatservestodistinguishthewaresandservicesof
onepersonfromthoseofotherpersons;
•Thedefinitionofatrade-markapplieswhetherthemarkisonethatis
registered,orifitisacommonlawtrade-mark,i.e.anunregisteredtrade-
mark;
•Inordertodistinguish,atrade-markmustnotbeconfusingwithanothertrade-
markoftrade-name;
•Ref.s.2TMA:

“distinctive”

©CIPS,2007.*Lawyer,AlexandraSteeleisamemberofLEGERROBICRICHARD,L.L.P.,amultidisciplinaryfirm
oflawyers,andpatentandtrade-markagents.Publication62.38E.

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inrelationtoatrade-mark,meansatrade-markthatactuallydistinguishes
thewaresorservicesinassociationwithwhichitisusedbyitsowner
fromthewaresorservicesofothersorisadaptedsotodistinguishthem;

II.DEFINITION:CONFUSION

•Ref.s.6(2)and6(5)TMA:

(2)Theuseofatrade-markcausesconfusionwithanothertrade-markif
theuseofbothtrade-marksinthesameareawouldbelikelytoleadto
theinferencethatthewaresorservicesassociatedwiththosetrade-
marksaremanufactured,sold,leased,hiredorperformedbythesame
person,whetherornotthewaresorservicesareofthesamegeneral
class.
[…]
(5)Indeterminingwhethertrade-marksortrade-namesareconfusing,the
courtortheRegistrar,asthecasemaybe,shallhaveregardtoallthe
surroundingcircumstancesincluding
(a)theinherentdistinctivenessofthetrade-marksortrade-namesand
theextenttowhichtheyhavebecomeknown;
(b)thelengthoftimethetrade-marksortrade-nameshavebeenin
use;
(c)thenatureofthewares,servicesorbusiness;
(d)thenatureofthetrade;and
(e)thedegreeofresemblancebetweenthetrade-marksortrade-
namesinappearanceorsoundorintheideassuggestedbythem.

III.DEFINITION:USE

•Ref:s.4TMA

(1)Atrade-markisdeemedtobeusedinassociationwithwaresif,atthe
timeofthetransferofthepropertyinorpossessionofthewares,inthe
normalcourseoftrade,itismarkedonthewaresthemselvesoronthe
packagesinwhichtheyaredistributedoritisinanyothermannerso
associatedwiththewaresthatnoticeoftheassociationisthengivento
thepersontowhomthepropertyorpossessionistransferred.

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(2)Atrade-markisdeemedtobeusedinassociationwithservicesifitis
usedordisplayedintheperformanceoradvertisingofthoseservices.
[…]
•InCanada,useofatrade-markisconstitutiveofrights.Registrationsimply
confirmstheexistenceofsuchrights;
IV.DEFINITION:FAMOUSTRADE-MARKS

•Thereisnodefinitionofa“famous”trade-markundertheCanadiantrade-
marksscheme;
•Generally,a“famous”trade-markisonethattranscendsthegoodsand
serviceswithwhichitisnormallyassociated;itmayevenpermeateother
relatedorevenunrelatedareasoftrade;

V.PROVINGFAME

•Evidenceisusuallymadeinthecourseofoppositionproceedings,orjudicial
proceedingsforinfringement,depreciationofgoodwill,passing-offandfor
judicialexpungementofaregisteredtrade-markregistration;
•Evidenceoffameshouldbemadeineachcase;
•Theburdenofproofrestsonshouldersofpartyallegingthe“fameofitstrade-
mark
•Generally,theCourtsandtheRegistrarofTrade-Markswilllookforany
evidencethattendstoshowthedegreeofrecognitionofthetrade-markin
oneormoreareasoftrade,orthattendstoshowtheextenttowhichthe
trade-markpermeatesareasoftradetowhichitisnotnormallyassociated;
VI.CASELAWPRIORTO2006
•ThePinkPanthercasewasconsideredasthe“reference”forallfamous
trade-markcasesfrom1998until2006…

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PinkPantherBeautyCorp.v.UnitedArtistCorp.,[1998]3F.C.534
(F.C.A.)

ToyotaJidoshaKabushikiKaishav.LexusFoodsInc.,[2001]2F.C.15
(F.C.A.)
VII.CASELAWSINCE2006
•In2006,theSupremeCourtofCanadaheardtwofamoustrade-markscases:

VeuveClicquotPonsardinv.BoutiquesCliquotLtée,[2006]1S.C.R.
824(S.C.C.)

MattelInc.v.3894207CanadaInc.,[2006]1S.C.R.22(S.C.C.)
•TheprinciplesofVeuveClicquotandMattelhavesincebeenfollowed:

RemoImportsLtdv.JaguarCarsLimited,2007FCA258(F.C.A.)
VIII.SUMMARYOFPRINCIPLES

•Thereisnobest/idealwaytoprovefame:itisaconclusionoffactbasedon
theevidencepresentedbythepartyclaimingit;

•Thereisno“onesizefitsall”testtodeterminethedegreeofnotoriety/fameof
atrade-mark;

•Proofofthedegreeofnotorietyhasnowbecomemoreimportantthan
evidenceof“fame”itself;
•Thelevelofnotorietywilldeterminethescopeofprotectionaffordedtoa
famoustrade-mark;

•Evidenceofnotorietymustbemadeineverycasethatitisasserted:a
successfulclaimofnotorietycannotserveasaprecedentforfuturecases;

IX.CONCLUSION

•Evidenceoffameisnotaguaranteethatoppositionorinfringement
proceedingswillbesuccessful:fameisbutonecriterionamongstothers.

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