Intellectual Property Update

Newfoundland trade-mark registrations often turn up in clearance searches undertaken to assess the availability of new trade-marks for use in Canada, and can be a source of puzzlement to anyone unfamiliar with their historical background. An oddity of Canadian trade-marks law, the special treatment of Newfoundland trade-marks is a legacy of the terms of entry of the province into the Canadian Confederation on April 1, 1949.

Sections 67 and 68 of Canada’s Trade-marks Act provide that the registration of a trade-mark under the laws of Newfoundland before April 1, 1949 has the same force and effect in Newfoundland as if Newfoundland had not become part of Canada. The pre-1949 Newfoundland trade-mark law did not impose a requirement for use to obtain or maintain a registration. Newfoundland registrations were also without time limitation, and did not need to be renewed. Under the Trade-marks Act, all rights and privileges acquired under those laws may