Canadian trademark law
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Canadian trade-mark law provides protection to marks under the Canadian Trade-mark Act. Trade-mark law provides protection for distinguishing marks, certification marks, distinguishing guises, and proposed marks against those who appropriate the goodwill of the mark or create confusion between different vendors wares or services. A mark can be protected either as a registered trade-mark under the act or can alternately be protected by a common law action in passing off.
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[edit] Passing off
Most of the law of passing off has been inherited from the UK case law. For a successful action in passing off the claimant must first show that the owner of the wares had goodwill or reputation. Second, the claimant must show that the other parties use of the mark constitutes misrepresentation of their wares as those of the claimants. Third, the claimant must show that the misrepresentation could potentially or actually did cause harm.
[edit] Registerable marks
A mark must be registerable in order to protected under the Act. Generally, all visual marks can be registered to the exception of marks that possess certain characteristics prohibited by the Act. Among the prohibited characteristics include:
- a mark cannot be registerable if it is "primarily merely" a family name.
- a mark that can produce confusion with another vendors mark
- a mark that is "clearly descriptive" or "deceptively misdescriptive".
- one of an enumerated prohibited marks such as government, royal, or international marks.
[edit] Infringement
A mark that has been registered gives the right to the owner to sue another party who uses a mark that interferes with the owners right. Under section 20 of the Act, the owner must have a) registered the mark, b) used the mark, and c) used it for the sale of identical wares or services.
[edit] External links
- Trade-mark Acts ( R.S., 1985, c. T-13 )
- Guide to Trade-marks from Canadian Intellectual Property Office
| Sources of law | Constitution, federal statutes, provincial statutes |  |
|---|---|---|
| Core areas of law | Constitutional law, Administrative law, Criminal law, Contract law, Tort law, Property law | |
| Other areas of law | Aboriginal law, Family law, Immigration and refugee law, Labour and employment law, Copyright law, Trade-mark law, Patent law | |
| Courts | Supreme Court, Federal Court (Appeal), Courts of Appeal, Superior courts, Provincial courts | |
| Education | Law school, Law School Admission Test, Call to the bar | |
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