I Dont Really Like This

Page 413 Case 4

This case deals with legal action being taken by a toy manufacturer called Creative Toy Company against another toy manufacturer by the name on Copy Toys Inc. Creative Toy Company manufactures toys that have been carefully designed and manufactured to prevent the removal of small objects that if removed could pose a choking hazard to children. Creative Toy Company marks their toys with a particular logo that they have registered as a trade mark. Copy Toys Inc. had been making similar line of toys for many years without a makers mark but recently began marking their toys with a makers mark very similar to the mark that creative toys uses on their products.

Creative Toy Company's logo consisted of a “T” and a “C” inside of a larger “C” and all of the letters of the company's logo were a different colour. Copy Toys Inc. began branding their toys with a logo that consisted of a large “C” with a “T” and an “I” enclosed in the “C”. The letters of Copy Toys' logo were written in script and all of the letters were the same colour and produced to contrast with the background colour of the toy.

Creative Toy Company would base their legal action on the claim that their logo is a registered trademark and that Copy toys Inc. using a logo that is similar to theirs constitutes infringement. A trademark is defined as any mark used by a person for the purpose of distinguishing its wares from wares of others. (Page 399) Infringement is defined as the “unlawful interference with the legal rights of another. (Page 398) In this case Copy Toys Inc. would be infringing on their intellectual property rights under trademark law.

Creative Toy Co. may claim that by Copy Toys Inc. using a mark similar to theirs that they are attempting to “pass off” their goods as being the goods of Creative Toy Company. In order to establish passing off it is necessary to show that the person who passed off the goods misrepresented them as the goods of another well-known...