What’s In A Name? (Why There Is No Copyright In Your Name)

The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench recently had to deal with a bizarre case in which the defendant obtained a Mastercard from Bank of Montreal, used it for 15 years, made payments on it for 15 years and then stopped paying it: Bank of Montreal v. Rogozinsky, 2014 ABQB 771.  The defendant was sued by BMO for the outstanding balance of $27,064 plus interest.  In defence, the defendant argued, amongst other things, that BMO was estopped from advancing their claim and counterclaimed against BMO for $6 million for trademark and copyright infringement.

Essentially, the defendant was a "freeman-on-the-land" – she claimed she was not a resident of Alberta (but was domiciled by birth), did not accept "joinder" between herself and her name, and (inexplicably) that slavery was illegal.  She also took exception to being called a "Freeman" and claimed such a title was discriminatory.