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''Masterpiece Inc. v. Alavida Lifestyles Inc.'' () 2 S.C.R. 387,〔''Masterpiece Inc. v. Alavida Lifestyles Inc.''() 2 S.C.R. 387〕 is a Supreme Court of Canada decision concerning the relevant criteria and basic approach to be undertaken by the Court in analyzing the likelihood of confusion in Canadian trademark law under the ''Trade-marks Act'', 1985 〔''Trade-marks Act'', R.S.C., 1985, c.T-13〕 The test adopted by the Supreme Court of Canada is whether, as a matter of first impression, the “casual consumer somewhat in a hurry” who encounters the Alavida trade-mark, with no more than an imperfect recollection of any one of the Masterpiece Inc. trade-marks or trade-name, would be likely to think that Alavida was the same source of retirement residence services as Masterpiece Inc. Furthermore, Rothstein J. affirmed a consumer protection principle of trade-marks as an indication of provenance, "providing consumers with a reliable indication of the expected source of wares or services." 〔''Masterpiece Inc.'', para.1〕 Rothstein J. delivering the majority judgment of the Court held that Alavida’s proposed trade-mark “Masterpiece Living” was confusing with at least one of Masterpiece Inc.’s trade-marks when the registration application was filed on December 1, 2005. Alavida was therefore deemed to be not entitled to registration of its proposed marks, allowing then for the Registrar of Trade-marks to expunge Alavida’s registration from the registrar. == Background and Facts == Masterpiece Inc. and Alavida Lifestyles Inc. were both involved in the retirement residence business, with the former operating in Alberta, and the latter in Ontario. Prior to December 2005, Masterpiece Inc. used several trade-marks which included the word “Masterpiece”, as well as its trade-name “Masterpiece Inc." Masterpiece Inc. (incorporated in 2001) undertook the construction of retirement residences in Alberta during the relevant period of 2001 to 2005, operating under its corporate name of Masterpiece Inc. as a trade-name. Moreover, Masterpiece Inc. used several unregistered trade-marks, including the “Masterpiece the Art of Living,” and “Masterpiece the Art of Retirement Living.”〔''Masterpiece Inc.'', para.9,10〕 Alavida Inc. was incorporated on August 4, 20005 and applied to register the trade-mark “Masterpiece Living” on December 1, 2005, on the basis of proposed use. The mark was registered unopposed on March 23, 2007 and Alavida has used the trade-mark since January 2006. Masterpiece Inc. applied to register “Masterpiece” as a trade-mark (January 2006) and applied to register the trade-mark “Masterpiece Living” (June 2006).〔''Masterpiece Inc.'', para.11〕 Prior application by Alavida resulted in the denial by the Registrar of both the trade-mark applications submitted by Masterpiece Inc. On March 16, 2007, Masterpiece Inc. applied to expunge Alavida’s registration. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Masterpiece Inc. v. Alavida Lifestyles Inc.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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