SOMETHING FOR THE CHILDREN

Canada opens door to dissimilar goods infringement

Mixed news for big-brand owners in Canada, following Friday’s Canadian Supreme Court ruling, The Star reports. First the good news. The court was prepared to acknowledge that trade mark infringement can occur where the defendant is using goods which are not similar to those on which the mark-owner has used his goods.

Barbie (left) was unavailable for comment

However, the Court held that each case must be judged on its own merits, and in the two cases before it, there was no infringement. This was because consumers would not confuse Barbie, the well-endowed but physically improbable dollie with a small chain of restaurants also named Barbie, nor would consumers confuse a mid-price clothing company named Cliquot with Veuve Clicquot champagne.

The IPKat notes that in order to comply with Art.16 of the TRIPs Agreement, WTO Members must provide protection against uses of famous marks on dissimilar goods.


Hi kids!

A bunch of online types report on the joys of Canada’s latest superhero – Captain Copyright. He doesn’t rescue people from burning buildings, but he does teach children about the evils of copyright infringement. He also provides fun games for children and informs them of useful facts, like the average royalty for authors (though the IPKat suspects that this has more to do with publishers than copyright law) and the meaning of moral rights.

The IPKat says that if children are taught all this at grade school, what will there be left for them to learn an university?