Region: North America

Following a quarterly review, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority - the organization in charge of the management of the '.ca' country-code top-level domain - has introduced some operational improvements to its rules and policies. These include amendments to the Registrant Agreement and clarification of the Fees Policy and Rules.

03 October 2003

The Federal Court of Canada has upheld the trademark registrar's decision to dismiss Bacardi's opposition to the registration of 'Havana Club' as a word mark and design. It found that as the applicant is also the owner - albeit disputedly - of the prior registered mark HAVANA CLUB, the claim of confusing similarity that was the basis of the opposition could not prevail.

22 September 2003

In <i>Acrobat Construction/Enterprise Management Inc v 1550507 Ontario Inc</i>, a CIRA panel has refused to order the transfer of 'acrobat.ca' to the complainant. The panel held that the respondent (i) has a legitimate right to use the domain name to host a search engine providing results for a search of the word 'acrobat', and (ii) had not registered or used it in bad faith.

19 September 2003

The European Commission has approved a bilateral agreement under which Canada and the European Union will commit to protect each other's geographical indications for wines and spirits. Under the agreement, names such as Chablis, Marsala or Port will only be used in Canada to label European wines.

15 September 2003

In order to promote its streamlined online procedures, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has announced that as of January 1 2004, it will offer reduced fees to those filing trademark applications and renewing registrations online.

08 September 2003

A British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre panel has ordered the transfer of nine '.ca' domain names to the Canadian government. Applying the CDRP the panel found that, under a 'first impression' test, the domain names were confusingly similar to official and common law marks in which the government has rights.

31 July 2003

In <i>Quebec Inc v Quebec Inc</i>, the Quebec Superior Court has granted a motion for a permanent injunction prohibiting the defendant from using the corporate names 'Restaurant L'Ancestral' and 'Restaurant La Maison L'Ancestral II' for its restaurant. The court held that both names were confusingly similar to the 'Restaurant L'Ancestral' name used by the plaintiff.

28 July 2003

In <i>Alticor Inc v Nutravite Pharmaceuticals Inc</i>, the Federal Court of Canada has affirmed a Trademark Opposition Board decision to allow the registration of the term 'Nutravita' as a trademark. The court concluded that the marks NUTRAVITA and NUTRILITE would not be confusingly similar when used in association with vitamins, minerals and herbs.

24 July 2003

In <i>Bauer Nike Hockey Inc v Roller Derby Skate Corporation</i>, the Federal Court of Canada has granted the plaintiff summary judgment to enforce a trademark infringement settlement the company had reached with the two defendants, Tour Hockey and Roller Derby, essentially holding that a deal is a deal.

07 July 2003

In <i>Air Products Canada Ltd v Index Quebec Inc</i>, a CIRA panel has decided not to order the transfer of 'airproducts.ca' to the complainant. In doing so, the panel took a broad approach to the determination of 'confusingly similar' and a liberal view of <i>bona fide</i> business plans which may negate accusations of bad faith, further clarifying the scope of the CDRP.

11 June 2003