N.B. business in trademark tangle with Alberta government over licence plates
CBC
Part of O Canada could become a legal headache for the Alberta government as a New Brunswick business looks to defend its trademark.
Earlier this month, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith unveiled six potential licence plate designs for residents to vote on as the province switches to a new plate.
While the choices featured different designs, from cowboys to oil rigs, all had the province's official slogan “Strong and Free.”
The problem is, a local business in New Brunswick already holds the trademark for “Strong & Free."
The trademark, which was approved by the government in 2022, specifically names more than 200 items Dow's design might be made on, but can't without her permission. It lists everything from clothing, hats, lanterns, towels, hockey pucks, belts buckles and metal licence plates.
The logo protected by the trademark features three red maple leaves over a banner that says "Strong & Free."
Denise Dow, the Saint John founder of Strong & Free Emblem, Inc., spoke patriotically about how she founded her business.
“I tell people that ‘Strong and Free’ picked me because it was just something that came to mind as the one phrase in our anthem that speaks strongly to our identity and our support for human rights and freedoms for all humanity.”
Dow said she runs it as a licensing royalty model, working with manufacturers across Canada who can purchase use of her “Strong & Free” emblem for products they are then allowed to make and sell themselves.
In provinces like New Brunswick that only require rear licence plates on cars, many people will use a decorative, novelty one on the front, she said.
Not long after Alberta announced its new plates, Dow said, she started getting messages from customers, so she said she consulted her trademark lawyer.
“We obviously don't want to stop anybody from, you know, promoting Canadian pride because that's what I enjoy doing," Dow said. "And we want people to celebrate Canada."
The ideal scenario, she said, would be to “negotiate an agreement” with Alberta for the province to use the trademark with a "nominal royalty,” some of which Dow said she would donate to a charity in Alberta.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.
A memorial to remember lives lost to gender-based violence was held in Charlottetown Friday, ahead of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which is marked annually on Dec. 6.
A Calgary dentist who defrauded five insurance companies over a decade should spend up to three years in prison, the prosecution argued Friday.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it has called off its search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.
The union president called it a rally for solidarity as Iqaluit Housing Authority employees gathered Friday while negotiations are ongoing between the Nunavut Employees Union and the employer.
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.