Is Use Of A Mark For Services Also Use On Goods Sold?

Litigation results are never fully predictable. That point is brought home clearly by a recent decision of the Federal Court in Heather Ruth McDowell v Laverana GmbH KG (2016 FC 1276, per Fothergill J.) involving an uncontested appeal of a decision of the Registrar of Trade-marks in a non-use cancellation proceeding pursuant to section 45 of the Trade-marks Act. If followed, this decision could have far-reaching implications for trademark owners, and especially those involved in retail activities, in terms of the Court's characterization of non-use cancellation proceedings, the type of evidence required to support use in a retail environment, and the issue of "ambiguity" in evidence and its impact on the findings of use.