Europe Archives - The Angle

SUSSEX ROYAL Trademark in Canada: Safe Heaven, But Maybe Not for Royal Trademarks

March 13, 2020 Mark Penner

The past two months have been marked by unprecedented turmoil for the British royal family, after the announcement by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, that they would step down as senior members of the royal family and entertain their own financial independence. Under a new working arrangement, they will be free to earn professional income and will have more liberty to pursue their charitable endeavours. Further details on the specific arrangements can be found here.

In anticipation of their new projects, a trademark application and a domain name registration for SUSSEX ROYAL had been sought in the UK. Following a recent intervention by Her Majesty the Queen herself, however, the use of the term “royal” has now been disallowed. Since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would no longer be serving as “royal” members and representatives, as they gave up their royal duties, then there was no justification for them to further use this term. The UK trademark application for SUSSEX ROYAL was thereby withdrawn.

Analysis, Canada, Europe, Trademark

Sights and Smells: a New World of Senses in the Field of Non-traditional Trademarks

January 22, 2020 Amy Tang

Introduction

The revised Trademarks Act came into force on June 17, 2019 and brought new waves of changes to the trademark legal landscape in Canada. The Act is now more harmonized with international practices and standard procedures of trademark law by adhering to international treaties and implementing the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice classification) and the Madrid Protocol for trademark applications with the World Intellectual Property Association, allowing access to more than 100 jurisdictions worldwide in a single application.

Non-Traditional Trademarks

To align Canadian trademark law with international standards, the revised Act now recognizes new non-traditional trademark signs, such as colours, three-dimensional shapes, holograms, moving images, modes of packaging goods, sounds, scents, tastes, textures and the positioning of a sign. This amendment opens the door for businesses in the Canadian market to let creativity run free and protect innovative forms of marketing.