Pros and Cons for Making a Trademark Search Prior to Filing a Trademark Application Conducting a trademark search prior to filing a trademark application can be beneficial but it is important to weight out the pros and the cons. You can read about the pros & con for making a trademark search prior to filing a trademark application by clicking here... Read More
COVID 19 Update In view of COVID 19, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office [Patent Office, Trademark Office, & Industrial Design Office] has again extended due dates until July 20th, 2020 for all matters before CIPO that have a deadline to take action for the period beginning March 16, 2020 and currently ending July 17, 2020. However, like CIPO, we are recommending... Read More
COVID 19 Update In view of COVID 19, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office [Patent Office, Trademark Office, & Industrial Design Office] is extending due dates until May 1, 2020 for all matters before CIPO that have a deadline to take action for the period beginning March 16, 2020 and currently ending April 30, 2020. However, like CIPO, we are recommending that... Read More
Canadian Trademarks Update: Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Agreement In accordance with new Canadian trademark laws, today the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) announced that the Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Agreement have now come into force for Canada. These changes give Canadian businesses access to the a centralized trademark filing systems enabling them to... Read More
The Good... The Bad ... and The Ugly The Good... While there are several good amendments made by the Bill to the Trademarks Act, one significant positive change is the broader definition given to a trademark. The amended definition of a trademark is for a sign or combination of signs which include a word, a personal name, a design, a letter, a... Read More
One of the issues considered in the Canadian Supreme Court's decision on Masterpiece Inc. v. Alavida Lifestyles Inc., 2011 SCC 27, [2011] 2 S.C.R. 387 related to the non-overlapping geographical usess of the trade-marks in dispute. Both Masterpiece Inc. (Masterpiece) and Alavida Lifestyles Inc. (Alavida) were operators of retirement residences in different provinces of Canada. Alavida applied to register the trade-mark... Read More
