Official Marks: A Reminder On Being A Public Authority Under Canada’s Trade-marks Act

Entities which constitute "public authorities" under the Canadian Trade-marks Act("Act") can obtain protection for their trade-marks under Section 9(1)(n)(iii) of the Act, in addition to regular trade-mark protection.

The Act does not define what connotes status as a "public authority" but an understanding of who may qualify as such has developed over time before the Federal Court of Canada.  Currently, a public authority must be Canadian and subject to significant control by a level of Canadian government, with activities that benefit the public.

A body will not be recognized as a public authority by the Canadian Trade-marks Office merely because it is a private or public foundation, registered charity, non-governmental organization, a not-for-profit agency or holds some other tax-exempt, non-commercial or volunteer status.