Toys\u00a0\u201cR\u201d\u00a0Us\u00a0Canada is battling tech giant Acer Inc., a Calgary swingers club and a Russian business over trademarks the struggling retailer says will cause confusion with its own branding.<\/p>\n
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The toy chain is opposing applications the three businesses filed in hopes of registering as trademarks a backwards\u00a0R, the phrase \u201cClub\u00a0R\u201d and the word \u201cWonderlab,\u201d respectively, in their products or marketing.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s handling the cases even as the retailer remains in creditor protection and searches for investors for the business or buyers for assets, like the trademarks, which could be sold to help the company with its severe cash crunch. It owes at least $120 million to suppliers alone and says its landlords are also out \u201csubstantial\u201d amounts.<\/p>\n
Toys\u00a0\u201cR\u201d\u00a0Us\u00a0Canada has said in its creditor protection filings that it is opposing the use of names and symbols linked to its brand to \u201cprotect its proprietary rights and goodwill.\u201d Its lawyer did not respond to The Canadian Press\u2019 requests for comment on the cases.<\/p>\n
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Furthest along in the process is the case over Wonderlab, the indoor playground and crafting space that\u00a0Toys\u00a0\u201cR\u201d\u00a0Us\u00a0Canada started experimenting with in 2013. It recently renamed the concept Playlab.<\/p>\n
A Russian company known as Biomicrogeli wants permission to use the Wonderlab name on a wide range of products including lactose food products, toiletries like shower gel, soap and shaving cream, as well as diaper rash ointments, documents filed with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) show.<\/p>\n
Because\u00a0Toys\u00a0\u201cR\u201d\u00a0Us\u00a0Canada\u2019s Wonderlab trademark covers food, beverages, diapers, medicine and skin, hair and bath products, the retailer\u2019s lawyers say letting Biomicrogeli use Wonderlab would be \u201cconfusing,\u201d especially because the Russian company\u2019s products \u201cwould target the same consumers and would be sold in the same channels of trade.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The argument was bolstered by an affidavit from a director of store planning worried there could be a \u201cserious safety concern\u201d if a child were to assume that a Wonderlab product from Biomicrogeli \u2014 which could contain chemicals \u2014 is safe to try out as they would in the toy store\u2019s Wonderlab.<\/p>\n
A lawyer for Biomicrogeli did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Many of the trademark applications\u00a0Toys\u00a0\u201cR\u201d\u00a0Us\u00a0Canada is opposing were made in the four years leading up to the company entering creditor protection in February but are still ongoing because it can take years to get permission to use a symbol when there is opposition.<\/p>\n
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No matter the circumstances a company is in when a fight comes to fruition, \u201cyou don\u2019t want somebody else infringing on your rights,\u201d said Erin McEwen, a trademark agent at Nelligan Law in Ottawa.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt dilutes your brand, really, because consumers could think that that other brand is associated with your brand.\u201d<\/p>\n
She found 162 active trademarks registered to\u00a0Toys\u00a0\u201cR\u201d\u00a0Us\u00a0Canada but said it\u2019s not unusual for companies to have that many, nor for them to pay lawyers to identify and oppose every application that has any shred of similarity to a company\u2019s own trademarks.<\/p>\n
Businesses are so aggressive in defending them because trademarks allow companies to tamp down on competitors and remain one of the most lucrative assets companies have.<\/p>\n
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