Brain freeze

Originally posted 2007-10-28 10:32:38. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

We kid Canada here from time to time. Maybe it’s because that’s where all the cold weather comes from. But mostly because they seem to have governmental units that are going a little nuts about trademarks. We have that here, a little, but I don’t know — these Canadian stories are troubling!

First we wrote about how the Canadian Supreme Court has asserted trademark rights in the shape of its (rather undistinctive!) courthouse. Now March Randazza reports this gem from the National Post:

The City of Toronto launched an ad campaign “One Cent Now” to increase support in Ottawa for a measure to set aside more tax funds for Ottowan cities. The ad campaign depicts the obverse (tails) of a Canadian penny. The Royal Canadian Mint sent a bill for $47,000 in licensing fees, claiming that the design of the penny and the term “One Cent” are the mint’s registered trademarks.

At least they’re going after another government unit. This should be interesting. So far, it seems only nasty, and stupid.