Canadian Supreme Court clarifies factors for assessing likelihood of confusion

On May 26 2011 the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Masterpiece Inc v Alavida Lifestyles Inc (2011 SCC 27) and, in so doing, clarified important legal principles concerning the interrelationship in Canada between common law trademark rights and those rights which flow from registration. Prior to this decision, very little jurisprudence had dealt with the differences, overlaps andinterrelationships between rights flowing from registration and those existing at common law through use.