Appeal Granted In Light Of New Evidence
Advance Magazine Publishers v. Wise Gourmet Inc. 2009 FC 1208 (Mainville, J.)

November 24, 2009

Rohit Parekh for the Applicant, Advance Magazine Publishers
No one appearing for the Respondent, Wise Gourmet Inc.

This was an appeal from an opposition decision of the Registrar of Trade-marks wherein it was held that the Applicant’s WISE GOURMET trade-mark was not confusingly similar to the Respondent’s GOURMET trade-mark. In this appeal, the Applicant submitted two affidavits for the purpose of correcting the evidentiary deficiencies noted by the Registrar, including a lack of evidence of trade-mark use.

The new evidence submitted by the Applicant resulted in a reconsideration of the issue of confusion between GOURMET and WISE GOURMET on a de novo basis. The Respondent chose not to challenge the new evidence or to participate in this appeal. As such, and since the Respondent bears the onus to show that there is no likelihood of confusion, the appeal was granted.

By: Alexander Monic, Lawyer & Trade-mark Agent