There is currently a live, ongoing legal dispute in California between former and current student athletes (SAs) and the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) which reveals that regulations defining collegiate eligibility did not foresee the nexus of new media technology and sport. Consequently, NCAA bylaws do not consider the effects of athlete intellectual property on […]
Nathan Fielder created quite an uproar when he opened up an establishment in Los Feliz, California named “Dumb Starbucks.” According to its FAQ sheet, the store claimed to legally operate under US parody laws.
Video game developer King made headlines and the IPilogue last month when they applied for a trade-mark for the word CANDY in the United States. The move generated extensive commentary and negative backlash from game developers and the gaming community at large. While it is unclear if causing a news buzz was the impetus behind the application, King […]
The global branding dispute between Thomas Pink and Victoria’s Secret opened up a front in Canada last month. In the decision, Justice Hughes of the Federal Court found that Victoria’s Secret had standing to seek a declaration that use of marks associated with its PINK clothing line did not infringe or depreciate trade-marks owned by […]
The Federal Court recently dismissed an appeal from the Trade-marks Opposition Board regarding confusion between trade-marks for Bridgestone’s motor tires and Campagnolo’s specialty bike accessories. What made this case especially interesting were the comments on arguments regarding “hypothetical channels of trade”.
Video game developer King, maker of the insanely popular and addictive Candy Crush Saga, has been granted a US trade-mark for the word “Candy”. While previously owning trade-marks over the specific designs and game titles, this is the first common word successfully trade-marked by King. Some are worried registering a common word is an over-extension of intellectual property rights, while […]
In Woodpecker Hardwood Floors (2000) Inc v Wiston International Trade Co, Ltd (2013 BCCA 553), the BC Court of Appeal denied an appeal to overturn an interlocutory injunction which enjoined the use of a registered trade-mark in an action for passing off. This case is surprising, both due to its strange relationship with judicial precedent […]
Giuseppina D’Agostino is the Founder and Director of IP Osgoode, the Founder and Director of the IP Intensive Program, the Founder and Director of the IP Osgoode Innovation Clinic, and an Associate Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. 2013 ushered in renewed changes to the intellectual property law terrain in Canada and around the world. […]
Popular online game developer Zynga was recently the subject of a trade-mark infringement claim over their game “Scramble With Friends.” In the England and Wales High Court case, J.W. Spear & Sons Ltd Mattel, Inc & Anor v Zynga, Mattel claimed that the Zynga game infringed their SCRABBLE and SCRAMBLE family of marks.
If you want to order a Heineken in China, just ask the bartender for a “喜力啤酒” (pronounced “see lee pee jow”). The second word-pair, “啤酒”(“pee jow”), simply means “beer” and can be ubiquitously used to order beer in China. But the first word-pair, “喜力” (“see lee”), is the trade name chosen by Heineken to represent […]