Archive for the ‘Foreign Protection’ Category
« Older Entries |Consultation by CIPO on Madrid and Singapore Treaties
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) recently launched a new consultation on possible Canadian accession to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (the Madrid Protocol) and the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks (the Singapore Treaty).
This is not the first time CIPO has looked at the issue of Canada acceding to the Madrid Protocol. Five years ago a similar consultation took place. In response to a request for input, CIPO received feedback from the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and from the International Trademark Association, though no further action was taken by CIPO at that time.
According to CIPO’s backgrounder to the current consultation, the intervening five years have seen important trading partners such as the United States join both the Madrid Protocol and the Singapore Treaty. As a result, according to CIPO, Canada is increasingly seen as isolated in its trademark laws and practices.
Posted in Foreign Protection, Legislation, Registration | No Comments »
Maple Melee Meets End?
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
There is an update available to an earlier story we blogged concerning an ongoing dispute between American Clothing Associates SA and the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM). We previously reported that a mark integrating Canada’s well-known maple leaf symbol could not be registered in the CTM because it contained the maple leaf, and accordingly improperly connoted an association with Canada.
In a decision released July 16th, the European Court of Justice dismissed American Clothing Associates’ appeal of this decision, and concluded that the maple leaf emblem was indeed protected as a state emblem.
Good coverage of the decision is available at German Trademark Law In A Nutshell – and thanks to Chris of GTLIAN for alerting us to the decision’s release.
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Maple Leaf Melee
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
A recent CTM case concerning an iconic Canadian symbol caught our attention.
The dispute between American Clothing Associates SA and the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (“OHIM” – the body that administrates the Community Trademark System) focuses upon the Canada’s well-known maple leaf symbol–stylized versions of which appear as part of our own logo, above.
The case considers the extent to which national symbols are afforded protection under the Community Regulation 40/94 and under the Paris Convention. American Clothing Associates SA (“ACA”) originally sought to register a logo made up of the Maple Leaf symbol, with the letters RW located beneath, for use in association with both goods and services.
OHIM’s examiner refused the initial application concluding that the mark as a whole would improperly connote an association with Canada. ACA appealed and lost again, the Appeal Board noting that the inclusion of the RW element in the mark did not avoid the application of Article 6ter of the Paris Convention which prohibits the use of marks incorporating State indicia without consent.
Posted in Case Law, Foreign Protection | No Comments »