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Trademarks - General. Group III International Ltd. v. Travelway Group International Ltd.
In Group III International Ltd. v. Travelway Group International Ltd. (Fed CA, 2020) the Federal Court of Appeal considered basics of trade-mark law:Rights conferred by registration
19 Subject to sections 21, 32 and 67, the registration of a trademark in respect of any goods or services, unless shown to be invalid, gives to the owner of the trademark the exclusive right to the use throughout Canada of the trademark in respect of those goods or services. ....[32] Under section 19 of the Act, and subject to sections 21, 32 and 67, the registration of a trademark, unless shown to be invalid, gives the owner the exclusive right to the use throughout Canada of the trademark in respect of the wares or services mentioned in the registration.
[33] The administrative scheme established under the Act highlights the specialized and comprehensive nature of the trademark registration process. I am of the view that the integrity of the administrative scheme is critical and underscores the importance of section 19 of the Act. Once the owner obtains the certificate of registration, the protection afforded to the registered trademark under section 19 of the Act is essential for the proper functioning of the trademark system and trademark law overall. There are policy reasons for this protection. It serves to protect the public as well as the owners of trademarks by affording transparency, stability and certainty of the trademark system in Canada.
[34] The equivalent protection of section 19 is not available in other statutes governing intellectual property law in Canada. In that regard, trademark law is distinct from patent law and copyright law. Therefore, I conclude that there are sound reasons why the use of a registered trademark does not give rise to liability in damages or profits for the period arising prior to it being struck from the Register because of the protection afforded to it under section 19 of the Act.
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