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Originally Posted by bgamma  I still disagree. It's not like Hobby Star has this huge, globally known brand to protect in "fan expo". Maybe it was the use of Coca-Cola as an example that I'm not buying.
I do agree...anyone trying to use a well known trademark in their name/title would not have a leg to stand on, but the term Fan Expo seems pretty generic(yes I know they say it's trademarked) and I would think that it could be easily differentiated by applying the group that was holding said expo to their particular title...in this instance...UFC Fan Expo. It's not a Fan Expo, it's a UFC Fan Expo...slight difference but a difference nonetheless. |
The Canadian Trademarks Act states that
(1) Any applicant who has filed an application in accordance with section 30 for registration of a trade-mark that is registrable and that he or his predecessor in title has used in Canada or made known in Canada in association with wares or services is entitled, subject to section 38, to secure its registration in respect of those wares or services, unless at the date on which he or his predecessor in title first so used it or made it known it was confusing with
(a) a trade-mark that had been previously used in Canada or made known in Canada by any other person;
(b) a trade-mark in respect of which an application for registration had been previously filed in Canada by any other person; or
(c) a trade-name that had been previously used in Canada by any other person.
I'm not a lawyer or anything and may be interpreting this wrong but to me it shows that the UFC would not be able to file a trademark for the "UFC Fan Expo" due to it being confusing with another trademark; this will hold up in court. A trademark does not need to be globally known to require protecting, they just need to have a trademark worth protecting in Canada.
Canadian Trademarks Act