“A, B, C,…as easy as 1, 2, 3?” That remains to be seen. BMW may be driving Google down a bumpy road named Trademark-Infringement Lane, after Google surprised everyone on August 10th with the creation of a new company, Alphabet. I say this because the trademark “Alphabet” and the domain name alphabet.com are currently owned by German automobile-manufacturer BMW. Following the announcement, BMW reportedly […]
Recent developments in the ongoing trademark dispute involving Asian American dance rock band “The Slants” have reignited discussion regarding disparaging marks and free speech. Last month the band argued before a U.S. appeals court that the government’s rejection of its trademark application pursuant to “the provision in the Lanham Act that bars disparaging trademarks violates the First Amendment and should be […]
The tangled history of Pro Football, Inc (PFI) and the issue of disparaging trademarks is back in the spotlight with recent accusations of bribery and an anti-Washington Redskins prime time commercial from the National Congress of American Indians.
As with any other major sporting event, the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games 2015 will showcase elite athletes. Behind the scenes the marketing games will also be in full swing. These games involve ambush marketing, the bane of major sporting events and their sponsors.
Etsy describes itself as a “marketplace where people around the world connect, both online and offline, to make, sell and buy unique goods.” For a site based on creativity and uniqueness, they have a surprisingly long history of high profile disputes between Etsy sellers and intellectual property owners. Among a myriad of other incidents, sellers have reportedly […]
Some may say that there is no Laurent without Yves, but Hedi Slimane is definitely not one of them. Luxury Goods International (LGI), the owner of Saint Laurent Paris’ trademarks, is suing Jeanine Heller, founder of What About Yves, for trademark infringement, trademark dilution, false designation of origin and unfair competition. Her parody t-shirts had […]
Giuseppina D’Agostino is the Founder and Director of IP Osgoode, the IP Intensive Program, and the IP Osgoode Innovation Clinic, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the IPilogue, the Deputy Editor of the Intellectual Property Journal, and an Associate Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. 2014 was another exciting year in intellectual property (IP) law. […]
Bill C-8 (the Combating Counterfeit Products Act, previously known as Bill C-56) passed third reading in the House of Commons on October 2, 2014, and is now before the Senate for further review. The Bill proposes a number of legislative changes to the Canadian IP regime. One of its main objectives is to create […]
Converse, a subsidiary of Nike[1], has recently filed 22 separate lawsuits against 31 retailers and shoe designers, claiming trademark infringement for the design of their classic “Converse All Stars” shoes. Defendants include giant retailers Kmart and Wal-Mart and designers such as Sketchers, Fila and H&M.
IP Osgoode would like to thank everyone who attended Professor Graeme B. Dinwoodie‘s lecture, titled “Territoriality of Trademarks in a Post-National Era,” on September 18, 2014 at Osgoode Hall Law School. The video of the lecture is available here. You can also read Jamie Franks’ reflections of Professor Dinwoodie’s presentation here.