Region: Canada

Budding cannabis entrepreneur learns the hard way that parody doesn’t play

The Federal Court of Canada has granted the Subway restaurant trademark owner a permanent injunction enjoining a cannabis dispensary from using the parody trademark BUDWAY.

16 July 2021

“A long time coming” – experts praise Canadian government’s creation of independent regulator for IP agents

The government of Canada launches the ‘College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents’, with local experts calling it a "welcome development" - although there are concerns that it could “add to the cost of practising”.

30 June 2021

The burdens of popularity – Canadian examination times and new office practices

The first of a two-part article examining the Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s latest steps to address its ongoing backlog of applications examines recent practice notices aimed at increasing the speed and efficiency of domestic application examination.

03 June 2021

Chia cryptocurrency trademark spat; BTS and McDonald’s collaborate; Gap and Walmart team up – news digest

In our latest round-up, we look at a report revealing that most consumers have "little faith" in brands, the China National IP Administration finding that Chinese firms have submitted "irregular" IP applications, and much more.

01 June 2021

Procedures and strategies for anti-counterfeiting: Canada

Featured in Anti-counterfeiting and Online Brand Enforcement: Global Guide 2021

In 2020, for the second consecutive year, there was a significant increase in the number of detained shipments by the Canada Border Services Agency (Customs), including several containers of counterfeit merchandise destined for global distribution.

11 May 2021

“We want to be the GoDaddy for trademarks”: Heirlume expands on filing platform’s future plans

Julie MacDonell, CEO of Heirlume, expands on the platform’s mission and plans to offer SMEs a service that will make the trademark application process as simple as buying a domain name.

11 May 2021

CIPO responds to concerns over new examination measures and assures additional changes are on the way

In an exclusive interview with WTR, a spokesperson for the Canadian IP Office (CIPO) reveals the effects that new measures are likely to have on the timeliness of examinations, as well as the office’s plans to expand the Goods and Services Manual and increase the number of CIPO examiners.

07 May 2021

CIPO takes concrete steps to address examination delays, but applicant frustrations look set to continue for some time

The Canadian IP Office has issued two new practice notices in an effort to tackle the backlog of applications awaiting first examination. While local experts are convinced that the office is doing the best it can, applicants may still have years of waiting ahead of them.

06 May 2021

Cannabis retailers have their work cut out for them in terms of trademark and brand strategy

Legal uncertainty is keeping brand owners on their toes, requiring businesses to be flexible and forward-thinking with their approach to IP.

30 April 2021

From Apple to Nike: key recent decisions and developments from the Americas analysed

For our next instalment presenting recent Legal Updates that you may have missed we turn our attention to the Americas.

30 April 2021