Hostess, the brilliant minds behind the TwinkieTM, filed for a motion to wind down business operations as the result of being unable to reach an agreement with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM). Though the company itself suffered from an inflated cost structure, their trade-marks, which include TwinkieTM, Ding DongsTM and WonderTM (bread), still […]
Cadbury won a surprising victory on October 1, 2012 by getting the colour purple as a registered trade-mark under the Trade-mark system of the European Union.
Anthony Davis, formerly NCAA college basketball’s breakout star, and presently the New Orleans Hornets’ #1 draft pick, might soon be following in the footsteps of fellow NBA player Jeremy Lin, although those steps won’t necessarily be on the court as his team’s top-scorer.
The United States Court of Appeals has handed down a ruling that tries to clarify the overlap of First Amendment protected artistic expression and unregistered and registered trade-marks.
On June 13th 2012, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), revealed the applications for new generic Top-Level Domain names (gTLD) in a press release and conference. In his opening address, President and Chief Executive Officer of ICANN Rod Beckstrom stated that the “internet is about to change forever”, and that the gTLD […]
The history of the “Havana Club” brand rum is a long one. It was originally produced and sold by the Arechabala family until 1960, when the Castro government confiscated their holdings without compensation. Since this included the Arechabala’s rights to sell their rum, the Cuban government began selling the rum themselves under the stolen “Havana […]
In view of the recent Federal Court Order, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) will now accept applications for sound marks. This groundbreaking decision arises in recognition of the nearly nineteen year legal conflict with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) whom, after an appeal of a CIPO decision in 2010, have now acquired the right to trade-mark […]
Twenga, Societe Anomyme (“TSA”) owns the registration for the mark TWENGA in Canada, which was applied for in May 12, 2008 and registered on October 25, 2011. Prior to the issuance of TSA’s registration, on October 5, 2010, the Registrant registered the Domain Name. The Registrant’s contact information was protected by the privacy rules of […]
In response to threats of legal action from Facebook, an Israeli entrepreneur has legally changed his name to Mark Zuckerberg.
Ben Farrow is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. On September 22, 2011, the European Court of Justice handed down a judgement on a series of trade mark related questions spurred by the long running dispute between international flower delivery network Interflora and English retailer Marks and Spencer. The case stemmed from a […]