Sound Marks Just a Whisper in Canada

CanadaFashionLaw just wanted to give you a head's up that Canada has its first registered sound mark! 

It's been a long road for Metro Goldwyn Meyer (click here to get the scoop) but they finally have protection of their roaring lion sound.  Since the Canadian Trade-marks Office changed its practice to accept sound as a trade-mark, sound trade-mark applications have been slow to trickle in. 

To date, only a few brand owners are looking to expand the brand protection pie: Mars Canada, Red Robin International, Toys 'R' Us, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Intel Corporation, Cisco Technology and Steam Whistle Brewing.  There are no signs of fashion designers or retailers taking the plunge.  Fashionistas, have any suggestions? 

Toronto Fashion Week Gets A Little Botox

The twitter-verse was set ablaze this week by the surprising news that Toronto Fashion Week has been sold. This is an interesting development for North America’s second largest fashion week (following New York) and goes beyond a mere change in sponsorship.  Mastercard will continue as the title sponsor for the upcoming shows scheduled in October 2012.

Until recently, Toronto’s Fashion Week has been run by the Fashion Design Council of Canada, with Robin Kay at the helm.  Under the FDCC’s guidance, Toronto’s Fashion Week has fared well with attendance rising to 40,000 over a 5 day period.  Now with IMG in the driver’s seat, it’s a safe bet that Toronto Fashion Week’s bi-annual events’ exposure will increase significantly.

Simply put, as a global conglomerate IMG is an international leader in the sports, fashion and media industries.  Divided into a number of subdivisions, IMG specializes in licensing, generating media content and programming, running events, talent representation and brand identities.  Of course, IMG’s Fashion division is of particular to interest to CanadaFashionLaw.  Under this umbrella, IMG owns and operates a number of well-reputed fashion events around the world (think New York, Milan, Berlin, Tokyo, London, Miami, Russia, etc.), along with representing a number of models, photographers, stylists and fashion designers.  This degree of specialization, coupled with IMG’s hyper-connectedness to the media is a good sign that Toronto’s Fashion Week is moving in the right direction to be a serious platform for designers on the international scene.

Never one to miss a Toronto fashion event, CanadaFashionLaw is looking forward to getting her industry pass for the new and improved Toronto Fashion Week.  Hope to see you there on October 22 to October 26, 2012!

Copy that!

Canadian copyright lawyers have been banging their head against the wall for a couple of years now and CanadaFashionLaw hopes that this little bit of news will alleviate their headache!

You see, for years now, Canada has been trying to give its Copyright Act a little nip and tuck.  The Copyright Act was created in the 1920s and, as you can imagine, was a little out of touch with today's digital age reality.  There have been many attempts at revising the Act but each attempt has failed due to election calls. 

Finally, it looks like Bill C-11, otherwise known as the Copyright Modernization Act, is here to stay!!!  The Bill has been passed by the Canadian government and given the Royal Assent.

The Bill looks to tackle technological issues that affect copyright owners and users, such as internet search providers, user generated content mash-ups and 'digital locks'.  The Bill also looks to equalize photographers rights with those of other artists.  Also, exceptions to infringement have been expanded to include parody, satire and education.

So what happens now?  Well, as any fashionista knows, we may buy a shoe in the right size but we still have to work in it and iron out the kinks.  The same can be said of legislative change.  There will be a period of trial and error in applying the letter of the law to practical situations.

Fashion's Night Out in Canada?

Every Wednesday CanadaFashionLaw religiously reads the Trade-marks Journal issued by the Canadian Trade-marks Office (what can we say - we love trade-marks!!).  Something caught our eye that we thought was worthy of a quick blurb.

It looks like Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. (the owner of Vogue magazine) is seeking trade-mark protection for FASHION'S NIGHT OUT in Canada.  The application is based on a combination of use and proposed use and spans a myriad of wares and services.  

For those of you not in the know, give yourself a slap on the wrist!  Fashion's NIght Out is the brain child of the reverred Anna Wintour and essentially started as a shopping festival in Manhattan.  It happens one night a year (this year it's on September 6, 2012) and is an after-hours shopping extravaganza!  Its modus operandi is to "celebrate fashion, restore consumer confidence, and boost the industry's economy".  It has since expanded beyond the confines of Manhattan and the following countries also participate in the event: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom  To date, Canada has not participated in the event.

But if the Canadian trade-mark applcation is any indication, is Fashion's Night Out looking to expand to Canada??!!

If yes, ladies and gents - clear your credit cards!  There may be some shopping to be done!!  After all, it's altrustic to help the country's economy, no?

CanadaFashionLaw will keep you posted on developments of this! 

Louboutin's Rolling Up His Sleeves

Following this week's decision in France against Christian Louboutin, the man himself issued a statement showing that he stands by his brand and is ready to put up a fight:

"Much of the discussion either implies or states that through this ruling we have lost our rights to our world famous Red Sole Trademark. We would like to clarify that what has been disputed and canceled is only one French registration of said Red sole Trademark. Christian Louboutin continues to own valid and enforceable trademark rights in its Red Sole Trademark, including in France itself as well as throughout the world. A number of court decisions have recognised the strong association between Christian Louboutin and the Red Sole Trademark, including in France. Christian Louboutin will continue to protect and enforce its rights to its Red Sole Trademark which has been its iconic signature for the past 20 years. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who continually show support to our brand."

You go girlfriend!

(By the way, Christian Louboutin owns a trade-mark registration in Canada for the Red Sole Trademark.  The Canadian trade-mark registration does narrow the color claim by including a Pantone reference in the color claim.)