Wednesday, January 30, 2013

#217 - grilladesstk.ca (and others) - COMPLAINT DISMISSED


The Complainant could not satisfy the bad faith and legitimate interest criteria and the Complaint was therefore dismissed.

The Complainant is One Group LLC, which owns and operates a popular chain of restaurants using the STK trade-mark in the USA.  They also own the STK trade-mark in Canada.   The Registrant is Gouverneur Inc. and they operate hotels in Quebec.  The Registrant initiated opposition proceedings as it relates to the Complainant’s STK registered trade-mark, which is still awaiting a decision.   The Registrant argues that the Complainant is not using the trade-mark in Canada, that it has taken steps to register its STK mark in Canada (application is based on proposed use and is currently pending) and that it therefore has a legitimate interest in the STK trade-mark.  The Panel found that the Registrant is taking common, appropriate and reasonable steps, and this is certainly not one of the cases where a Registrant is preying on the trade-mark of others. 

You can read the decision here

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