Following a recent decision by the European Union
Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to invalidate Spin
Master's Rubik's Cube trademark in the EU, we explore what
this means for three-dimensional trademarks in Canada.
Last week, I watched a guy on the subway solve a Rubik's
Cube between stations. At least, it looked like a Rubik's
Cube—that iconic toy that became a global phenomenon in the
early 1980s. It might have been a knockoff. After the recent
decision from EUIPO, we may start to see a lot more of those.
Spin Master, the Canadian children's entertainment and toy
company, acquired trademark registrations for the Rubik's Cube
around the world in 2021. In Canada, for example, Spin Master owns
trademark registration no. TMA868338 for a
trademark consisting of "a three-dimensional representation of
a cube design".
