Monday, April 26, 2021

Registrations are now issuing under Canada's new Trademarks Regime

 

Registrations are now issuing under Canada's new Trademarks Regime

Anybody who has filed an application in Canada in the last few years knows that examination is routinely taking over two and half years at best.

So, imagine my surprise to discover an Approval Notice issued (one week after the search was recorded) before even a year had passed, advertisement took place just 10 days later and a large envelope arrived in the mail from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office within 3 weeks of the opposition period expiring containing the Registration Certificate.

Yes, you read that right. CIPO is mailing out Registration Certificates. We used to pay extra to get a hard copy.

It is truly a unicorn file. 

 

 

The Winter of my Knit Content (365 Days of Gratitude)

365 Days of Gratitude

2020 was such an awful year globally that on January 1, 2021 I embarked on expressing gratitude for the life I am privileged to live. I decided to do it on Instagram as that would require only a picture and a short explanation. I soon realized that this was not as easy as it seemed. It's not that I'm not grateful for EVERYTHING but coming up with a specific thing and a related picture EVERY day is harder than I expected; and yes, I get the irony (boo hoo, first world problems). But that's what makes it worthwhile -- a daily remembrance that life really is good to me and I am blessed.

Now, I decided to flush out some of my little Instagram glimpses. Number 2

The Winter of my Knit Content

 

Until this winter I had never knitted anything much more than blankets. But I came into a banana box (you know, the ones you get at Costco checkout) full of an assortment of, mostly baby, yarn and felt obligated to use it. It's leftover yarn from many, many projects so it's tricky. Really only good for small projects but there was a really big ball of multicoloured self striping yarn in baby pinks, yellow, green, blue and white which looked like enough for a small blanket so I did that. The blanket has a repeating star pattern. Free pattern at  Start Knitting Once that was done there was still a good bit of the yarn so I made mitts and a hat to match. Free pattern at  Knitting on the Net

 

My First Sweater

 In my search for star patterns Baby Yoda sweaters and hats came up. After reviewing a bunch of different versions I finally settled on Cari Luna's free pattern at Ravelry.com   Knitting up the parts was straightforward. But putting it all together took some mad skills. In the process of getting internet help I read that this is the knitter's nightmare. Ugh. It wasn't a nightmare but it took the better part of a saturday. Free yoda hat pattern from Shinah Chang also at Ravelry.com

 

 

 Stuffies

Next up, for Valentine's Day I knitted little stuffed hearts in red and white for my granddaughter to play tic tac toe with. I used a really cool pattern available for free at Ravelry.com from Amanda Berry aka fluff and fuzz

 

Well, the hearts were so easy and fun I decided to make stuffed stars for the new baby's nursery. Once again I looked to Amanda Berry and found a free pattern at Ravelry https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/starfish-24 I ended up making 6 stars all different sizes with different yarns -- experimenting with needles sizes and number of stitches depending on the yarn type. Super easy pattern. I marveled at how adding a stitch at one end of the row and taking a stitch away at the other end could change a rectangle into a diamond. Weird.

 

 

My last project for this winter was dinosaurs because somewhere along the way the new baby's parents went from a star themed nursery to everything dinosaurs. I used a free pattern from Canadian Living magazine to make a T-Rex. In a couple of places the pattern is incorrect but it was quite obvious and easy to correct. Got help from Marinda Hekel on how to “embroider” the eyes, nose and mouth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwu-ZoJtRkg


Monday, March 15, 2021

Expressing gratitude for the life I am privileged to live.


365 Days of Gratitude

2020 was such an awful year globally that on January 1, 2021 I embarked on expressing gratitude for the life I am privileged to live. I decided to do it on Instagram as that would require only a picture and a short explanation. I soon realized that this was not as easy as it seemed. It's not that I'm not grateful for EVERYTHING but coming up with a specific thing and a related picture EVERY day is harder than I expected; and yes, I get the irony (boo hoo, first world problems). But that's what makes it worthwhile -- a daily remembrance that life really is good to me and I am blessed.

It's been two and half months (74 posts – I counted) and I've decided that it might be entertaining to flush out some of my little Instagram glimpses. I'll start at the beginning.

 

 

To ring in the new year, we went down to the river; we thought that maybe folks on the other side might be setting off fireworks that we could watch. We settled ourselves into two red chairs (*more on that later) and looked out over the river hopefully. There were a few pops and bangs across the river but nothing spectacular. And then some folks showed up right beside us at the dock and proceeded to pop off a bunch of fireworks. It was a great display and we encouraged them and thanked them from (a socially distanced) afar with much clapping and ohs and awes. It was delightful. That kindness and sharing had to bode well for a good new year. 

 

 

 

 

 #SHARETHECHAIR

*The red chairs are a thing in Canada, the parts operated by the Federal Government anyway. Back in 2015 gearing up to our 150th anniversary of Confederation, the National Parks put on social media  #sharethechair . They built and scattered throughout the country's (many) National Parks red Muskoka  (aka Adirondack) chairs.When you found one you took a selfie and posted it to social media. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
That summer we took a rather spectacular road trip and we found some of those chairs way off the beaten track in Red Bay, Labrador and at Snug Harbour, Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland.



The following winter we found the chairs at Winterlude here in Ottawa.

And a couple of years later we found them at the top of Sulfur Mountain in Banff National Park.




Fast forward to summer of 2020 when the National Capital Commission put a bunch of these chairs along the Ottawa River pathway. It seemed a bit of an odd thing to do in the covid summer where sitting around on park benches was frowned on but, that's government for you, I guess. They have weathered the winter well and no doubt hosted hundreds of picnic lunches.


 

Friday, April 10, 2020

THIS JUST IN


An emergency Order in Council was made  under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act in Ontario this week so that we lawyers can now have Wills and Powers of Attorneys signed and witnessed by video conferencing.

VIRTUAL WITNESSING

After taking instructions, preparing the documents and forwarding the finished documents by email (see my previous blog), I intend to provide myself and my isolation partner as virtual witnesses to the execution of Wills and Powers of Attorney for Personal Care and Property.  The client will sign the documents in his/her home while with us on a video conference and will then forward the signed documents to me by some sort of courier.  Once I have received the documents, the other witness and I will then sign the document(s), again, on  a video conference with the client.  I will then prepare the Affidavit(s) of Execution and either keep the documents or return them to the client.  

For clients who can not make use of video conferencing, the advise in my previous blog still applies.

If you would like to discuss any of this with me, please call 613 749-7698 or email nhunt@hunt-law.ca.

Tuesday, April 7, 2020




WILLS  and COVID-19 ISOLATION


The proliferation of DIY Will kit ads


I don't know if it's a Facebook matrix but my feed seems to be full of DIY Will kit advertising. Please, please, please beware. A DIY kit will result in a printed Will. In Canada such a will is only valid if the signing is witnessed by two people who see the signing at the same time. 

What to Do (and Not Do) as a Carlsbad LandlordBecause of the state imposed Covid-19 isolation mandate, getting together to sign a Will would be inconsistent with advice provided by Health Canada.  So unless you have two adults in your isolation circle, you will have trouble getting the DIY Will validly executed (ie. properly signed and witnessed). Bear in mind that those two adults can not be your spouse, nor anyone named in your Will or their spouse, nor your children.


But can I meet with a Lawyer?

Well, yes. 

Lawyers are considered essential services  in Ontario so we are expected to continue to provide client services.  However we are also expected to physically isolate and work from home as much as possible.  So, I am not receiving clients in my office nor am I willing to go to their homes (which is part of my usual practice). I am physically isolating as we all should be and I am encouraging my clients to do so as well. While I am aware that lawyers continue to physically visit with clients, I believe this behavior is irresponsible no matter how careful they think they are being.   For the foreseeable future, I will only assist clients by telephone and video conferencing (Zoom, Skype, MSTeams, FaceTime, Google Duo, Messenger Video and the like).

But virtually only.  Video Conferencing: It's Just a Meeting

Typically, a preliminary meeting where I get all the information I require will take about an hour and can be performed by video conference, ideally, or by telephone if necessary. Thereafter, I would prepare documents and email them for further discussion and eventual approval.

For clients who can arrange the necessary witnesses, I will provide detailed instructions as to the exact procedure to be followed to sign the documents. Although it is not necessary, I would be happy to oversee the signing by video conference. After the signing, I will ensure that one of the witnesses swears out the Affidavit of Service, which can be done by video conference and does not have to be done simultaneously with the signing. 

Desperate Times call for Desperate Measures -- Holographic Wills

For clients who can not arrange the necessary witnesses, my advise is to make a holographic Will. This is not nearly as interesting as it sounds; it is NOT a video recording or the like. A holographic Will is a Will completely written by hand by you and signed by you. It does not need to be witnessed. You can use one of the DIY kits as a guide and write it out yourself or I can provide you with a bare bones Will to write out. When we are given the all clear to resume physical interaction, a formal Will could be produced, signed and witnessed to replace the holographic Will.

I hope you find this helpful. 

 If you would like to discuss any of this with me, please call me on 613 749-7698 or email nhunt@hunt-law.ca. I charge $367.50 per Will.

Stay home and stay safe!


Friday, August 3, 2018

CANADA TRADEMARKS ACT – UPDATE

Canada's new Trademarks Act is expected to be in place in February 2019

 In June of 2014 the Canadian Government signed into law legislation overhauling the Canadian Trademarks Act. The changes to the Act pave the way for Canada joining the Madrid Protocol and Nice Classification system. In addition “use” as a prerequisite to registration in Canada has been eliminated. In the intervening years, the Trademarks Office has been working on the critical regulatory and system changes needed for implementation and the new law is now expected to be in place in February 2019.  Below are the most interesting changes and some suggestions for action going forward.

The Elimination of the “Use” Requirement

Under the changes to Canada’s trademark laws, registration is available whether or not the mark has been used in Canada or elsewhere. The requirement to declare a specific filing base for applications has been eliminated; applications will include a standard statement that the applicant has used or intends to use the mark in Canada.

Declarations of Use will no longer be required and there are no maintenance requirements based on use.  Nevertheless, use will remain a crucial element for protection and enforcement of marks. Indeed CIPO has stated that without use no action for enforcement is available within the first three years after registration.

Adoption of the Nice Classification System

Additional fees will be charged for each class over one at both filing and renewal.

The combined filing and registration fee will be CDN $330 for the first class and CDN $100 for each additional class.   Since the application fees will be higher after the new Act comes into force (CIF), applicants who are planning to apply for a trademark claiming more than two classes of goods or services should consider filing the application before the CIF date to take advantage of the lower fees. Such applications will not be subject to the current use requirements (so long as CIF is not significantly delayed).

The Renewal fee will be CDN $400 for the first class, and CDN $125 for each additional class. Since the renewal fees will be higher after the new Act comes into force, it is possible that trademark owners may save money by renewing a registration early if the registration covers multiple classes of goods or services. CIPO has provided inconsistent information as to whether owners completing renewals before the CIF date will be required to pay the difference in the renewal fee if the renewal fee is greater under the new tariff of fees.

Shortened Renewal Period

Registration and Renewal terms have been shortened to 10 years.  Since the renewal period will be shortened from 15 to 10 years after the new Act comes into force, it is possible that trademark owners can obtain the longer renewal period by renewing a registration before CIF. CIPO has provided inconsistent information as to whether owners completing renewals before the CIF date will be accorded the longer renewal period. 

Adherence to the Madrid Protocol 

Foreign applicants will now be able to secure protection in Canada under the Madrid Protocol. 

Introduction of Letters of Protest.

Third parties will be able correspond with an Examiner to raise registrability concerns about others' application at any point from filing to publication. 
 

Division of Applications.

Goods and services in an application may be divided into two or more applications during examination and opposition. 
 

Associated Marks

Transferring ownership of associated marks will now be permitted.

Tuesday, May 30, 2017



Celebrating  Canada's 150th birthday

 

Looking for something different to do this summer to commemorate Canada's 150th birthday? How about walking the beaches of Les Ìles de la Madeleine? 

 

The tiny archipelago in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, northeast of Prince Edward Island but a part of the province of Quebec, comprises seven islands and is accessed only by sea or by air. It's main road extends only 85km but the Madeleine's boast more than 300km of beaches.  For more details go here Iles de la Madeleine


Last summer, we walked the circumference of the archipelago. As the crow flies it is about 170km – about 150km on beaches. Add detours and meandering and we walked well over 200km. We were camping so we had to carry a tent, mats, sleeping bags, a stove, gas, pot and dishes, clothes, WATER, food ...  Here is all our stuff scattered about and then all packed up in two manageable backpacks.


 












After parking our car at the Dockside Bed & Breakfast ($5/night parking fee) in Souris, Prince Edward Island, we boarded the ferry for the 5 hour trip to Les Ìles. It was a pleasant ride and there is lots to do;  ferry details here. We arrived in Cap-Aux-Meules at 7pm and stopped in at the Tourism office where we got a big and quite detailed map of the islands. An easy 5km walk down main street, along the Coastal Trail and then along Chemin du Gros-Cap got us to the Gros-Cap Campground where we set up our tent just before a nasty storm blew in. 

DAY 1

Our first morning on Les Ìles was raining and blustery. A work emergency kept us at the campsite using their internet café facilities until 11am by which time the worst of the bad weather had passed. As we walked the De la Martinique and Du Cap Beaches the weather cleared up and by late afternoon the sun and blue skies brought out plenty of kite surfers at the Du Cap end of the beach. We had a delicious supper at Chez Elmer in the tiny village of La Grave, Havre Aubert. I had their specialty clam chowder in a bread bowl which Mike drooled enviously over while he ate his fish and chips. The little artisan shops and the Musée de la Mer were closed so we never did get to visit them. The restaurant let us fill up our water bottles and we crossed the island via Chemin du Sable and accessed Du Havre Beach where we set up our tent and promptly fell asleep. We had walked about 25km.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 2

We had our breakfast of instant oatmeal and coffee on the beach. A lady camping in a van at the beach access parking lot replenished our water supply. We decided not to do the Sandy Hook Beach detour to make it a short hiking day.  Our next destination, Camping Belle Plage, was about an 8km stroll along the beach. There is gap in the beach at Le Bassin bay opening which we were able to ford quite easily; water was about waist high. The campground is really just a field but it has nice showers and a
laundromat, no free WIFI. There is a restaurant about a kilometre down the road.

DAY 3

The better part of day 3 was spent walking along Chemin du Bassin. Just after the grocery store where we got water (4 litres!), baguette and local goat cheese for lunch and tuna and rice for supper, there is a coastal path around the lighthouse which is quite lovely. We ate our lunch at the tower overlooking the beach at Ance á la Cabane.







Plage de L'Ouest stretches almost 4km to a high tide gap; it was all sand by the time we got there. After crossing the gap, we set up camp in between two tall dunes, ate our supper at the top of one and watched the sun set over a fishing trawler. We had walked about 25km.

 

 

DAY 4

An animal visited us in the night, we saw by its tracks in the sand in the morning.  Dune de L'Ouest aka Plage du Corfu Island (the remains of this ship are on the beach) takes us back to the main island. There is a small gap which we walked through, barefoot. Then we had to clamber around a point, thigh deep water and the rocks are slick with algae. It was a holiday Monday and the kitesurfers were out in full force; they were quite distracting but we made it around without falling into the surf.




The seaside shops at Site de la Côte (L'Etang du-Nord) were closed but the facilities were available and the Art Gallery had a pot of coffee brewing. We watched a seniors lawn bowling tournament as we sipped our coffee.





Across the street the dairy bar opened so we had sundaes for lunch to fortify us for the overland next part of our journey; a trail which hugs the coastline and leads right into Camping Barachois. The campround has showers, a laundry room and a common room but no free WIFI. For supper we walked into Fatima and ate at Decker Boy. We had walked about 20km. 





DAY 5

Day 5 marks the start of some serious beach walking. Mike left me and the bags at the Plage de la Hôpital entrance facility to get groceries in Fatima. There is a Creperie and a bar, both closed for the season but a large building with washrooms, tables and chairs and an outdoor deck with benches is open. Inside hanging from the ceiling is the skeleton of a whale. A lady has biked all the way from the main town just to see it. There is also an outdoor shower and lots of picnic tables scattered around. 

The Plage de la Hôpital becomes Plage de la Dune du Nord. The sand was soft and walking became an exercise in trying to find the hardest sand. Mike chose to walk just above the surf line at an angle. I meandered around in the flat areas looking for solid footing. This is a buggy beach with, much to our amazement, traffic directional signs. Tired of the beach walking, we jumped onto the highway about 2km outside of Pointe-Aux-Loups. This tiny village was closed for the season but a very kind gentleman supplied us with water and told us to come back for more. We accessed Plage de la Pointe aux Loups and set up the tent. We were treated to another beautiful sunset as we ate our salad. We had walked about 21km; I was miserable and exhausted.

DAY 6

Day 6 started out cold and blustery. Having to go back to town for a water fill up, we decided to walk the highway but as it soon got boring we hopped back onto the Plage de la Pointe aux Loups. Again it was tough walking in the soft sand. If yesterday was my breaking point day, today was Mike's.  Pods of seals swimming along the coast amused me while Mike fixed on the salt mine silo far away in the distance. We got off the beach and found the Seleine Mine salt mine interpretation centre (info here). It had bathrooms and seats. We changed into our sandals, leaving our stinky runners outside to air in the sun, and learned about the underwater salt mountains which built the islands. The only thing missing was actually going into the mine (preferably in a cart). After spending as much time as possible here, we loaded back up and walked over the bridge to Grosse- Ìle for a fish and chips supper at B&J Casse Croute. Neither their WIFI nor my cell access was strong enough to run the tablet so getting some work done was not an option. Nevertheless we spent a long time there and filled up our water bottles. At the local convenience store Mike found desserts which we enjoyed after we made our way to Plage de la Pointe de l'Est and set up our tent. We had walked about 19km.

DAY 7

Another blustery day. A storm was coming and we needed to make it back to civilization. The Dune de l'Est goes to the eastern most point on the islands where it becomes the Plage de la Grande Echouerie (aka Old Harry Beach) and heads back south west. Old Harry Beach access is a pay-parking lot located on Chemin Head with a little store (not open) which sells beach paraphernalia. It is also the access to the East Point National Wildlife Reserve. Up the road is the Little Red Schoolhouse, now a museum displaying artifacts and old photos of the one-room school it used to be. Of interest to us though is the cafe in the basement. The custodian brewed us a pot of coffee and we devoured slices of pound cake and half of a pie. A few more kilometres walking and we arrived at La Salicorne resort. We had walked about 23km. 

At the resort reception we dropped our bags on the floor and started inquiring about rooms. The proprietor was intrigued by our adventure and more than a little impressed. We had been talking about quitting all day but his interest perked us up. Instead of getting a room, we decided to camp and spend the money saved on food and activities at the Resort. For supper we had La Grande-Entrée; the Ìles sampler of seal sausage, fish mousse, lobster bisque and smoked mackerel. The resort offers its campers free WIFI, laundromat, showers and a common room with a kitchen, chairs, tables, sofa and tv. We were snug in our tent when the storm blew through.

DAY 8

Having decided not to quit, day 8 was our rest day. Mike spent the morning working while I puttered about. In the afternoon we went on a caving excursion. The cave bashing excursion (details here) is like a whirlpool on steroids; basically being thrown into and against surface caves by the ocean's waves. A wetsuit and a life jacket keep you buoyant and a helmet protects your head. It was tremendous fun and better than any massage for our weary bodies. 

DAY 9

Our little tent survived the 100kph winds overnight. We packed up and walked to the harbour stopping for groceries along the way. Our transportation guy, arranged by the resort manager, was waiting for us. It is maybe a 5 minute boat ride across the Havre de la Grande Entree but he gave us a little tour so we saw the seals basking in the sun. He dropped us off at the eastern end of the Dune du Sud.


We found a message in a bottle washed up on the beach and added our details to it and threw it back into the waves. We actually saw another couple who were geared up for camping on the beach. They didn't talk to us. We thought that was weird and a bit suspicious. At dusk, we pitched the tent across from a big rock out in the ocean. It made a pretty picture and I posted it online, just in case.  It had been a lovely day; warm and a big blue sky. We walked about 16km.


         

DAY 10


Our last day of beach walking was cold, cloudy and blustery. Walking into the wind was tough but the sand was solid from the previous rains. The entire walk we could see way off in the distance where we going. We arrived at Camping Sillons fairly early – it was only about 8km. Camping Sillons has coffee, snacks and WIFI in the main lounge and showers and a laundromat. For supper we walked up the road for fish and chips and also found a Creperie at the beachhead for a sweet snack.

 

 

    

DAY 11

Our last full day on Les Iles was warm and sunny. We walked the hills and dales of Havre-Aux-Maisons along Chemin de Pointe-Basse. We stopped in at the  Fumoir d'Antan an Economuseum® herring smokehouse and at the Fromagerie du Pied-de-Vent. Late in the afternoon we stopped for lunch at Restaurant Le Sablier. We used their WIFI to get some work done. Then it was a quick stroll across the causeway back to the main island and the ferry dock. About 13 km and we had made it full circle right back to the Tourism office. The woman in there told us that the bar, Les Pas Perdus, across the street might have rooms for rent upstairs. It turned out it did and I was pretty stoked to sleep above a saloon!  Upstairs has large rooms, 2 shared bathrooms, a sitting room with TV and laundromat.