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Times Group Corporation Trademark Infringement Upheld on Appeal —

The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld a decision expunging the trademark of a competitor of Times Group Corporation (Times Group) and granting a permanent injunction restraining the competitor from using the word “Time” from marketing real estate to Toronto’s Chinese-Canadian community. The Court confirmed the distinctiveness of Times Group’s source trademark and the likelihood of confusion between the two marks. A key finding of the court was that “confusion is to be determined based on the somewhat rushed, casual consumers’ first impression” even when the item being purchased requires as much diligence as a house. Time is also notable for the use of Chinese characters as evidence. The distinctive meaning to be derived from these characters has gained prominence in several recent trademark cases. John Kingman Phillips acted for the successful party on this appeal.

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