The famous MGM lion is roaring in celebration of its legal victory in the Federal Court of Canada. 

The Federal Court of Canada rendered a decision on March 28, 2012 permitting the registration in Canada of sound bites as trademarks under the Trademarks Act.   The case was brought by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios after its application to register the lion’s roar that accompanies its logo at the start of films was rejected by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.  The CIPO long insisted that sound could not be registered as a trademark, only visual representations (such as words and logos).  The Federal Court disagreed and has therefore opened the door to applications for registation of sound marks.

CIPO has published a notice on its website setting out the requirements for sound mark applications, including:

1. the application must include a drawing that graphically represents the sound;
2. the application must contain a description of the sound; and
3. the application must contain an electronic recording of the sound.  The recording must be in a WAVE or mp3 format, less than 5mb in size.

 

In a court decision in the United States in early August, a judge ruled that a popular shoe designer, Christian Louboutin, will likely fail in its effort to stop other shoemakers from producing high-heeled women’s shoes with red soles.

The judge said it was unlikely Mr. Louboutin could defend an “overly broad” trademark granted in 2008 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The judge added that the office was “perhaps swayed in part by the widespread recognition the red sole had already attained”.   The trademark notes that the color red is claimed as a feature of the mark, which consists of a lacquered red sole on footwear.

“Awarding one participant in the designer shoe market a monopoly on the color red would impermissibly hinder competition among other participants,” the judge wrote. in his decision.   He said it would be as if Picasso had sued Monet, saying he painted his water lilies with a distinctive indigo that Picasso used on his images of water. Read the rest of this entry »