Recently the Federal Court of Canada dismissed BBM Canada's
trade-mark dispute with Research in Motion ("RIM") over
RIM's use of the trade-mark BBM in association with its
BlackBerry Messenger service.
This case was the subject of an earlier
IP Monitor in which we reported on the Federal Court of
Appeal's holding that nothing precluded BBM Canada from
bringing its claims for relief under the Trade-marks Act
by way of application. While RIM did bring a subsequent motion to
have the proceeding converted into an action, that motion was
dismissed and the proceeding continued as an application.
This case highlights the Trade-marks Act's
commercial nature and role in consumer protection. It also
discusses the need to carefully identify the relevant consumer
group when considering an enforcement proceeding.
