Expired Wine/Spirit Trademark? Go For It, Says Trade-Marks Act!
While reading Canada’s Trade-marks Act (IDK why it’s not spelled Trademarks, but anyways…), I found the following interesting nugget. Sounds similar to some domaining practices, and may have value for offline businesses:
Exception for disuse
11.18 (1) Notwithstanding sections 11.14 and 11.15 and paragraphs 12(1)(g) and (h), nothing in any of those provisions prevents the adoption, use or registration as a trade-mark or otherwise, in connection with a business, of a protected geographical indication identifying a wine or spirit if the indication has ceased to be protected by the laws applicable to the WTO Member for which the indication is protected, or has fallen into disuse in that Member.
What would you guys do with this, if you were in the wine/spirits business?
Hmmm. I don’t think I get the full picture on this development. Would this mean that I could then register a domain name of a known wine/spirit in Canada and then “park” it?
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Gabriel Goldenberg Reply:
July 26th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Potentially, it seems that way to me. Their claim in the trade mark would no longer be valid “if the indication has ceased to be protected by the laws applicable to the WTO Member for which the indication is protected, or has fallen into disuse in that Member.”
So yeah… if Champagne suddenly stops designating that region… Register the TM yourself and capitalize
.
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Comment by Justin — July 26, 2009 @ 1:49 pm