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The article focuses on the protection of scent marks under the Canadian Trademarks Act. Topics include the authority of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), the registrability of scent marks under Canadian trademark law, and the graphical representation of scent. Information is provided on the functionality of scent marks.

The article discusses Canadian trademark law and intellectual property protections as of May 2012, focusing on an analysis of nation's Trade-marks Act, as well as the tort of passing off and the legal aspects of damages. A three part goodwill or reputation test, which was established by the Supreme Court of Canada, is examined. Trademark registrations, unfair competition, and practical tips for Canadian lawyers are also examined.

Examines the case, United Artists versus Pink Panther Beauty Corp., regarding the law on the protection of famous trademarks in Canada. Claims of United Artists; Contention of the registrar of trademarks and decision of the Federal Court Trial Division; Why the Federal Court of Appeal ruled for the defendant; Statements from Justice F. Joseph McDonald.

Focuses on the Federal Court of Canada decision eliminating the element of trademark reputation as qualifying requisite for conferment of legal protection to trademark ownership in the country as enunciated in the case `Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co. v. Singer.' Equality of rights between the Canadian distributor and trademark owner; Implication of the decision for the country's generic industry.

The article discusses the union of Canadian subsidiaries of retailers including Best Buy, Costco Wholesale and Walmart against the Québec government's language laws. It mentions that the retailers have alleged the l'Office québécois de la langue française, Québec's French-language watchdog, of changing the rules allowing English-language trademarks. Also presented are the views of Nathalie St-Pierre, Québec's vice president for the Retail Council of Canada, on it.

The article focuses on various provisions of the trade mark law and legislation in Canada that govern licence validity. It mentions that in Canada, the registration of licences in a public register or any other form of disclosure to a public authority are not required to ensure the validity of licences. It discusses the section 50 of the Trade marks Act, and states that under the act, the licensee must grant control over the character or quality of the goods or services.

The article reports that Canada's Supreme Court is considering two cases centering on the issue of famous marks. The status of famous marks in Canadian trademark law was in the spotlight in October 2005, as the Supreme Court of Canada heard arguments in Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin vs. Les Boutiques Cliquot Ltée and Mattel Inc. vs. 3894207 Canada Inc. The Court's decisions will probably contain important clarifications of the extent to which famous marks, by virtue of their fame, are worthy of protection as commodities in their own right, independently of the wares or services with which they are ordinarily associated. INSET: A famous mark and its aura.

The article discusses aggressive trademark litigation (ATL) from the perspective of the U.S., Great Britain and Canada. It mentions that the U.S. trademark cases involve three scenarios involving a trademark owner which include a nonintentional infringer, a competitor and an intentional infringer. Proposed solutions for diffusing ATL tactics are presented including earlier involvement of the judge and use of counsel's agreement in searching electronic documents.

The article discusses the copyright dispute between Apple Inc. And Cisco Systems regard the name iPhone. Canadian telecommunications company Comwave Telecom owns the rights to the name in Canada, and plans to defend its trademark against Apple Inc. Several high-profile trademark infringement cases are presented, and details related to trademark law in Canada are discussed.

The article reports on the move of Canada which amended the Trade-marks Act to improve intellectual property protection and help prevent importing counterfeit goods.

Qiang Ma and Jessica Chumeng Xu of Jun He Law Offices look at the outstanding cases of the last 12 months and explain the implications of the new Trademark Law's developments on bad-faith filing and the opposition system [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss the changes in the intellectual property (IP) laws in Canada. The IP law treaties signed by the Canadian government to harmonise the patent, trademark and industrial design law in the country are highlighted. The views of the authors about the proposed change to the trademark registration process under the Canadian Trademarks Act are outlined.

The article discusses Canadian Bill C-47, a federal act that protects any marks associated with the upcoming Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2010. The Vancouver Organizing Committee is trying to trademark terms like "winter," "gold," "medals," "games," and "tenth," until the end of 2010. The author says that you can't generally monopolize descriptive terms based on Section 12 of the Trade-marks Act, but the bill is being decided.

Intel Corp. has hit upon a great idea with it's code name, Manitoba. The chip firm uses locations for code names because they can't be trademarked, according to Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy. "The name-picking is more of a random thing," says Mulloy, noting that other code names have included the locations of an Oregon river and an Israeli village. Canadians should lobby the government to amend the trademark rule so that other Canadian provinces can take advantage of a lucrative revenue stream and license out their names for high technology. Such a program would go a long way to resolving budget shortfalls as provincial governments reap the benefits of branding and cross-promotion.

The article reports that the Canadian Trade-marks Office is again seeking comment on possible modernization of the Canadian Trade-marks Act. These efforts are clearly the precursor to further consideration of adoption of the Singapore Treaty and the Madrid Protocol. One of the main topics will undoubtedly be how to modify Canada's trade mark use requirements to make these consistent with the Madrid Protocol process.

The article examines Section 22 of the Canadian Trade-marks Act. The section, created by the Trade Mark Law Revision Committee, is said to have given owners of registered trade marks power to combat dilution resulting from either blurring or tarnishment. A member of the committee, Doctor Harold G. Fox, said that uniqueness is the qualifying point of distinctiveness. Cited also is the Supreme Court's four part test for the applicability of Section 22 in Veuve Clicquot case that involves the goodwill attached in the registered mark.

The article reports that Canadian courts have reaffirmed the principle of first come, first served for trade mark applications. The Canadian Trade-Marks Act provides, in section 37, that an application shall be refused at the examination level where the applicant is not the person entitled to registration of the trade-mark because it is confusing with another trade-mark for the registration of which an application is pending. The court noted that section 37 provides a complete code for the review of an application at the examination level.

The article reports that the planned implementation of the Trademark Act in Canada has been pushed to 2018. Topics covered include the reasons for the cancellation of the previously planned implementation in 2016 or 2017 and the announcement of Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) chief executive officer (CEO) Johanne Belisle that the Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Agreement will be implemented in 2018.

The article discusses the exceptions allowed in Canada for comparative advertising purposes under the Trade-marks Act and Competition Act for portrayals that do not depreciate goodwill of marks. It takes note of the importance of obtaining advice from intellectual property counsel and cites the lack of provisions in the Trademark Law of China for usage of marks in parody. The protection of prior trademarks in France and application of the principle of exhaustion in Germany are also noted.

The article discusses developments in trade mark laws in Canada as of June 2014, particularly on the registration of non-traditional marks. It cites the move by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) to allow the registration of sound marks. It presents as example the granting of registration to Metro Goldwyn-Meyer's (MGM) iconic lion's roar in 2012. The opinion of Baker & McKenzie's Stephanie Vaccari on the developments is also cited.

The article focuses on issues related to an announcement by the Canadian government on March 28, 2014 regarding changes to the Trade-marks Act. Topics discussed include the implications of the amendments to intellectual property (IP) practitioners in Canada, the significance of the changes to Canada's adherence with international trade mark treaties and a warning issued by Canadian IP law firm Bereskin Parr on the effect of the changes on businesses.

The article discusses proposed changes to Canada's Trade-marks Act. Topics discussed include the adoption of the Nice classification system which groups goods and services into approximately 50 different classes, the reduction of the term of Canadian trade mark registrations to 10 years from 15 years and the inclusion of non-traditional marks such as three-dimensional shapes, sounds, scents, tastes and textures.

The article presents information on whether trademark laws in Canada allow to trademark traditional knowledge (TK). TK is generally defined as the knowledge or cultural practices passed from one generation of indigenous people to the next through dance, art, symbolism, song, horticulture or craft. The trademark law is meant to associate a chosen mark with goods or services to distinguish those goods or services from other goods or services.

The article presents information about a session on virtual worlds, online games and trade marks, held at the International Trademark Association's (INTA) Annual Meeting in April 2011, which focused on trade mark laws involving online games in the United States, South Korea and Canada. R. Scott MacKendrick of Cameron MacKendrick said that moral rights infringement was unlikely in Canada.

The article reports on the proposed changes to the cancellation proceedings under section 45 of the Canadian Trade-marks Act in 2009. One of which is the authorization that will be given to registrar to render a decision upon receipt of the registrant's evidence. Another change that was proposed, is the removal of the right rescind the proceedings on the request of the parties.

The article traces the career of Robert MacDonald. An intellectual property law practitioner for 20 years, MacDonald has experiences in all areas of trade mark practice, including prosecution, licensing, oppositions and litigation in the Federal Court of Canada. He is also a lecturer on the Advanced Practical Trademarks Course offered by McGill Centre for Continuing Education and the Intellectual Property, Institute of Canada (IPIC).

The article features Toni Polson Ashton who is practicing with the Ontario Bar since 1976. A senior partner in intellectual property law, Ashton provides counseling to clients in the selection and availability of trademarks, portfolio management, prosecution, policing of trademarks, opposition and related licensing and packaging issues. She is also a member of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and of the Canada Bar Association.

The article reports that Trademarks Office in Canada raises objection to a trade mark, if it comprises or incorporates the name of an individual deemed to be famous. In order to overcome a name objection, evidence must be filed either showing that the trade mark has acquired secondary meaning throughout Canada or that the mark is not without distinctive character in Canada.

The article reports that the Canadian Trade-marks Office has issued a Practice Notice stating that the registrar will generally no longer require an applicant for registration of a trade-mark to enter disclaimers pursuant to section 35 of the Trade-marks Act. The prior disclaimer system had been in practice since the late 1940s and was statutorily enacted in 1953.

The article presents information on a legal battle between Mattel Inc. and Barbie's restaurant in Canada over a trademark issue. Mattel is well known for Barbie doll products. When Barbie's restaurant applied to register the word "Barbie's" as a trademark for use with restaurant services, Mattel opposed the application under the opposition procedures in the Trademarks Office and lost. Finally, Mattel appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Supreme Court said that the invented or coined words are given greater protection under the trademark laws of Canada. As "Barbie's" is an ordinary dictionary word, it can not be given that much of protection. The court allowed the restaurant to register the trademark.

The article reports that Canada's Supreme Court has issued a ruling that limits the protection provided by the country's trademark law. In Kirkbi AG and Lego Canada Inc. vs. Ritvik Holdings Inc./Gestions Ritvik Inc. (now operating as Mega Bloks Inc.), the Supreme Court decided on November 17, 2005, that a functional product design cannot be protected by trademark rights. Lego was suing Mega Bloks, claiming that the designs of some Mega Bloks toys, which match Lego blocks, infringed its trademark.

Presents tips on the prevention of legal troubles for advertising agencies and marketers in Canada. Purpose of a copy review; Suggestion of securing an internal review system for the advertising copies; Advice of recruiting a professional trademark searcher to fit in the trademark law.

Reveals that a rash of disputes involving Internet domain names has prompted the federal government of Canada to consider changing the Trademarks Act. Comments from Brian Dillon, a senior policy analyst with Industry Canada's intellectual property policy directorate; Amendment of the Act some time in year 2000; Organizations that have been involved in domain name disputes.