Locust Lane: Can A Road Name Be An Enforceable Trademark?

It is a fundamental principle of trademark law that no business should be able to prevent others from using apt language to accurately describe their goods and services. For this reason, clearly descriptive trademarks are typically not registrable in Canada (nor in many other countries) and it can be very difficult to protect such marks. In spite of this principle, brand owners frequently adopt trademarks which push the boundaries of descriptiveness. The recent Federal Court decision, Hidden Bench Vineyards & Winery Inc v Locust Lane Estate Winery Corp, 2021 FC 156, is a cautionary tale on the limits of enforcing descriptive geographic names.

This case involved two wineries operating on the same road in a small town in Ontario, Canada. The road, "Locust Lane", was named after the locust trees that adorn the region. The Plaintiff, Hidden Bench Vineyards & Winery Inc. (Hidden Bench), had been selling wines from that location since 2003, some of which were labelled