Marginal note:Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Olympic and Paralympic Marks Act.

Marginal note:Interpretation

• 2. (1) The following definitions apply in this Act.

  “COC”

  « COC »

  “COC” means the Canadian Olympic Committee, a corporation incorporated under Part II of The Companies Act, 1934, chapter 33 of the Statutes of Canada, 1934.

  “court”

  « tribunal »

  “court” means the Federal Court or the superior court of a province.

  “CPC”

  « CPC »

  “CPC” means the Canadian Paralympic Committee, a corporation incorporated under Part II of the Canada Corporations Act, chapter C-32 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970.

  “Olympic or Paralympic mark”

  « marque olympique ou paralympique »

  “Olympic or Paralympic mark” means, subject to subsection (3), a mark set out in Schedule 1 or 2.

  “organizing committee”

  « comité d’organisation »

  “organizing committee” means any organization that is recognized, by the COC and a city in Canada elected to host an Olympic Games or Paralympic Games, as being responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of those Games.

• Marginal note:Words and expressions

  (2) Unless the context otherwise requires, words and expressions used in this Act have the same meaning as in the Trade-marks Act.

• Marginal note:Schedule 2 marks

  (3) A mark set out in column 1 of Schedule 2 is considered not to be an Olympic or Paralympic mark after the corresponding expiry date set out in column 2.

Marginal note:Prohibited marks

• 3. (1) No person shall adopt or use in connection with a business, as a trade-mark or otherwise, an Olympic or Paralympic mark or a mark that so nearly resembles an Olympic or Paralympic mark as to be likely to be mistaken for it.

• Marginal note:Prohibited marks — translations

  (2) No person shall use in connection with a business, as a trade-mark or otherwise, a mark that is a translation in any language of an Olympic or Paralympic mark.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to an organizing committee, the COC or the CPC.

• Marginal note:Excepted uses

  (4) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) prevents

  • (a) the adoption, use or registration, as a trade-mark or otherwise, of a mark described in subsection (1) or (2) if the person has obtained the written consent of an organizing committee during any period prescribed by regulation or of the COC or the CPC during any other period, and acts in accordance with that consent;

  • (b) the use of a trade-mark by an owner or licensee of the trade-mark if an owner or licensee of the trade-mark used it before March 2, 2007 and the use subsequent to that date is in association with

    • (i) the same wares or services as those for which the trade-mark was used before that date,

    • (ii) the wares or services in respect of which it is registered under the Trade-marks Act, or

    • (iii) any other wares or services of the same general class as that for which it is registered or was, before that date, used;

  • (c) the use of a trade-mark by an owner or licensee of the trade-mark if an owner or licensee of the trade-mark used it before the day of publication in Part I of the Canada Gazette of an order that, by adding a mark to Schedule 1 or 2, prohibits the use of the trade-mark and the use subsequent to that day is in association with

    • (i) the same wares or services as those for which the trade-mark was used before that date,

    • (ii) the wares or services in respect of which it is registered under the Trade-marks Act, or

    • (iii) any other wares or services of the same general class as that for which it is registered or was, before that date, used;

  • (d) the use by Her Majesty, a university or a public authority, or a person authorized by Her Majesty, the university or the public authority, of a badge, crest, emblem or other mark in respect of which Her Majesty, the university or the public authority, as the case may be, has requested that the Registrar give public notice under paragraph 9(1)(n) of the Trade-marks Act, if the notice is given before March 2, 2007;

  • (e) the use by Her Majesty, a university or a public authority, or a person authorized by Her Majesty, the university or the public authority, of a badge, crest, emblem or other mark in respect of which Her Majesty, the university or the public authority, as the case may be, has requested that the Registrar give public notice under paragraph 9(1)(n) of the Trade-marks Act, if the notice is given before the day of publication in Part I of the Canada Gazette of an order that, by adding a mark to Schedule 1 or 2, prohibits the use of the badge, crest, emblem or other mark;

  • (f) the use of a protected geographical indication identifying a wine or spirit, if the wine or spirit originates in the territory indicated by the indication;

  • (g) the use by a person of their address, the geographical name of their place of business, an accurate indication of the origin of their wares or services, or an accurate description of their wares or services to the extent that the description is necessary to explain those wares or services to the public;

  • (h) the use by an individual of their name; or

  • (i) the use by an individual who has been selected by the COC or the CPC to compete, or has competed, in an Olympic Games or Paralympic Games, or another person with that individual’s consent, of the mark “Olympian”, “Olympic”, “Olympien” or “Olympique”, or “Paralympian”, “Paralympic”, “Paralympien” or “Paralympique”, as the case may be, in reference to the individual’s participation in, or selection for, those Games.

• Marginal note:Clarification

  (5) For greater certainty, the use of an Olympic or Paralympic mark or a translation of it in any language in the publication or broadcasting of a news report relating to Olympic Games or Paralympic Games, including by means of electronic media, or for the purposes of criticism or parody relating to Olympic Games or Paralympic Games, is not a use in connection with a business.

• Marginal note:Clarification

  (6) For greater certainty, the inclusion of an Olympic or Paralympic mark or a translation of it in any language in an artistic work, within the meaning of the Copyright Act, by the author of that work, is not in itself a use in connection with a business if the work is not reproduced on a commercial scale.

Marginal note:Prohibited acts

• 4. (1) No person shall, during any period prescribed by regulation, in association with a trade-mark or other mark, promote or otherwise direct public attention to their business, wares or services in a manner that misleads or is likely to mislead the public into believing that

  • (a) the person’s business, wares or services are approved, authorized or endorsed by an organizing committee, the COC or the CPC; or

  • (b) a business association exists between the person’s business and the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, an organizing committee, the COC or the CPC.

• Marginal note:Use of expressions set out in Schedule 3

  (2) In determining whether a person has acted contrary to subsection (1), the court shall take into account any evidence that the person has used, in any language,

  • (a) a combination of expressions set out in Part 1 of Schedule 3; or

  • (b) the combination of an expression set out in Part 1 of Schedule 3 with an expression set out in Part 2 of that Schedule.

• Marginal note:Proximity to mark

  (3) The placement of an advertisement in proximity to published material — including material published electronically — that contains an Olympic or Paralympic mark or a translation of it in any language is not in itself an act contrary to subsection (1).

Marginal note:Remedies

• 5. (1) If a court finds, on application, that an act has been done contrary to section 3 or 4, it may make any order that it considers appropriate in the circumstances, including an order providing for relief by way of injunction and the recovery of damages or profits, for punitive damages, for the publication of a corrective advertisement and for the destruction, exportation or other disposition

  • (a) of any offending wares, packages, labels and advertising material; and

  • (b) of any dies used to apply to those wares, packages, labels or advertising material a mark whose adoption or use is prohibited under section 3.

• Marginal note:Application to court

  (2) An application referred to in subsection (1) may be made

  • (a) during any period prescribed by regulation, only by

    • (i) an organizing committee, or

    • (ii) the COC or the CPC, or a person who uses an Olympic or Paralympic mark with the written consent referred to in paragraph 3(4)(a), if the COC, the CPC or the person, as the case may be, has obtained during that period an organizing committee’s written authorization to make the application, or has made a written request during that period to an organizing committee for its authorization to which the committee has not responded, in writing, within 10 days after receipt of the request; or

  • (b) during any other period, only by

    • (i) the COC or the CPC, or

    • (ii) an organizing committee, or a person who uses an Olympic or Paralympic mark with the written consent referred to in paragraph 3(4)(a), if the committee or person, as the case may be, has obtained during that period the COC’s or the CPC’s written authorization to make the application, or has made a written request during that period to the COC or the CPC for its authorization to which the COC or the CPC, as the case may be, has not responded, in writing, within 10 days after receipt of the request.

• Marginal note:No unreasonable refusal

  (3) The authorization may not be unreasonably refused.

Marginal note:Interim or interlocutory injunction

6. If an interim or interlocutory injunction is sought during any period prescribed by regulation in respect of an act that is claimed to be contrary to section 3 or 4, an applicant is not required to prove that they will suffer irrepara­-ble harm.