Mattel, Inc. v. 3894207 Canada Inc. and Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin v. Boutiques Cliquot
On June 2, 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) issued decisions in two cases that were eagerly awaited by owners of famous brands. Although the famous brand owners were not successful in the cases of Mattel, Inc. v. 3894207 Canada Inc., and Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin v. Boutiques Cliquot, the decisions provide guidance on the scope of protection of famous marks. The cases may also have opened the door to more claims under section 22 of Canada’s Trade-marks Act (the Act), which allows a claim for depreciation of goodwill.
Consistent with its recent approach in respect of decisions concerning intellectual property, the SCC was careful to consider the public interest when defining the appropriate scope of trade-mark protection for famous marks. The SCC noted that trade-marks are "something of an anomaly in intellectual property law. Unlike the patent owner or the copyright owner, the owner of a
