JUDGE RULES AGAINST ROYAL ROADS UNIVERSITY IN LAWSUIT
By Adnews Staff
A judge has ruled that Canada Investment and Savings has not infringed on Royal Roads University's trademark in its advertising for Canada Savings Bonds. The university filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Canada Investment and Savings, the agency of the federal government that sells Canada Savings Bonds. Royal Roads has been using the tagline "You Can Get There From Here" since 1999, registering it as its official mark in May 2002. Canada Investment and Savings started using the line in 2001. Justice W. Andrew MacKay ruled that each year's bond issues are essentially the same product and therefore the agency's use of the mark was not a violation of the Trade-marks Act. The position of Royal Roads was that each annual bond series constitutes a new product. Deborah Irvine, vice-president of university relations said, "We're disappointed clearly, though we do take heart from the judge's note that the mark is likely to be more important to us than to Canada Savings Bonds and that our two agencies should be able to work out an arrangement over this mark." According to Canada Investment and Savings, the 2003 sales campaign for Canada Savings Bonds, which will run in the fall, will not use the line. In 1999, when Royal Roads began using the line, its agency of record was Copeland Communications of Victoria, BC. The university's current agency is Trapeze Communications, also of Victoria. Advertising for Canada Investment and Savings is done by Vickers & Benson.