Newsflash (Homepage)

SCOTT MILLER AND THE MBM LITIGATION TEAM SUCCESSFULLY SET ASIDE A DECISION...

Leonardo Da Vinci Is Still Alive!

By Scott Miller, February 9th, 2016

Federal Court File Nos. T-1104-15 and T-2125-15

Scott Miller and the litigation team at MBM Intellectual Property Law have successfully joined its Italian wine making client, Dallevigne S.p.A. (Dallevigne), to an appeal of a decision of the Canadian Trademark Office expunging the trademark DA VINCI (TMA303667) for non-use pursuant to s.45 of the Trademarks Act. The party who originally requested the s.45 confirmed it will not participate in the appeal of the trademark office decision to the Federal Court. However, the maintenance of the s.45 decision is relevant to Dallevigne because it had filed a trademark application, CANTINE LEONARDO DA VINCI & Design No. 1561950 (CANTINE) which was refused by the Trademark Opposition Board (TMOB) solely because, at the time of the TMOB decision, the DA VINCI mark was still on the register. Dallevigne has appealed the TMOB decision refusing the registration of the CANTINE trademark.   

The Federal Court correctly found that Dallevigne (1) will be directly affected by the s.45 appeal decision and (2) will suffer prejudice if it was not allowed to be joined to the s.45 appeal because Constellation Brands Quebec Inc., the owner of the DA VINCI registration is continuing to assert the impugned trademark against the CANTINE trademark, without the opportunity for Dallevigne, or any other party,  to challenge the registration being asserted against Dallevigne.  

The Federal Court also correctly stayed the appeal of the CANTINE trademark pending the outcome of the s.45 appeal recognizing that proving irreparable harm is not a pre-condition to the granting of a stay where the Federal Court is effectually enjoining itself as opposed to exercising power over an administrative body. In such situations, a stay will be granted if the Court believes a party will not be unfairly prejudiced and it’s in the interest of justice to treat the request for a stay analogous to a scheduling or an adjournment request.  

In all, it is possible to have a party joined in one proceeding and at the same time stay another proceeding when fairness, common sense and the interest of justice are considered.

For more information about this topic please contact:

Scott Miller, Partner, Head of the Litigation Department 
T: 613.801.1099
E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Trademarks in Canada and the Madrid Protocol

By Randy Marusyk, April 30th, 2015

The Madrid Protocol is a trademark treaty that has established a system for the international registration of trademarks, having 92 member countries including the United States and the European Union. It makes it possible to file national trademark applications in one language, and also to simultaneously renew and record assignments or address changes for registrations in multiple jurisdictions. This filing procedure may potentially provide significant cost savings for an applicant who would like to file a global trademark.

Canada has begun implementation of the Madrid Protocol when Bill C-31, the Economic Action Plan 2014, No. 1, which recently received Royal Assent. Although this legislation has been passed, the Trade-mark Regulations will need to be revised and proclaimed into force before the Madrid Protocol becomes law in Canada; it is expected this will happen in late 2015 or early 2016. Other practical implementations such as staff training, IT system updates, and clarification of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s (CIPO) role as an ‘Office of Origin’ may affect this timing.

There have been some concerns expressed as to the implementation of the Madrid Protocol in Canada. Practically, it will further burden an over-burdened system which may result in an increase of the prosecution timeline for domestic applications, in order to meet the strict time limits imposed by the protocol. The Courts may also need to adjust to higher volumes of litigation while looking for legal guidance in other jurisdictions. There are also concerns about the overly broad legislative amendments including the removal of trademark ‘use’ requirements at the time of registration. Such a change in the Canadian legislation may result in trademark squatting, that is, the registering of trademarks solely for the purpose of selling them.

For more information about this topic please contact:

Randy Marusyk, Partner 
T: 613.801.1088
E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.