Tweak-D Inc. v. Canada (Attorney General), 2023 FCA 238
Justice Stratas; Justice LeBlanc; Justice Biringer - 2023-12-06
Read full decision. Automatically generated summary:
The Registrar of Trademarks determined that the appellant’s word mark, TRIBAL CHOCOLATE, was not registrable because it was confusing with an already registered word mark, TRIBAL. The Federal Court affirmed the Registrar’s decision: 2023 FC 427. ... The “state of the Register” may, in some cases, demonstrate a pattern of registrability of similar marks. We adopt the Federal Court’s reasons at paras. 28-29 that inferences based on the Register should only be drawn if there is a large number of relevant registrations and evidence of actual use ... The appellant argues that the Federal Court erred by “wholly discounting the significance” of the co-existence agreement between the appellant and the owner of TRIBAL. We disagree. A registered trademark owner’s consent to the registration of a competing trademark is not dispositive of registrability ... The appellant has not shown that the Federal Court made a reversible error in upholding the Registrar’s decision. We dismiss the appeal with costs.
Decision relates to:
- A-119-23 - TWEAK-D INC. v. AGC which is an appeal from 2023 FC 427 in T-1844-22