Travel Leaders Group has won the right to use the Travel Leaders trademark in Canada, capping a six-year legal battle.
The Federal Court of Canada, in a decision handed down 08MAR, determined that the Travel Leaders trademark registration, owned by an Ontario numbered company since 2011, had been abandoned and should be cancelled.
As a result of the decision, Travel Leaders Group, a division of Internova Travel Group, has filed new applications in Canada for the Travel Leaders trademark and has a pending application for the Travel Leaders Network trademark.
The company released the news during the Travel Leaders Network EDGE conference underway in Nashville.
However, out of an abundance of caution, Travel Leaders Group will not be adopting the trademark in Canada until the decision is final. The Ontario company has sought an extension of time to file an appeal but according to Travel Leaders Group, has failed to retain counsel and is unlikely to be allowed to proceed without counsel.
“We’re extremely gratified by the court’s decision,” said Roger E. Block, President, Travel Leaders Network. “This is a tremendous win for our company. Our brand is vitally important to us, and we’ve invested a great deal of time and energy defending it. We’ve already spoken to our Canadian members, and they’re excited to start using the full official Travel Leaders Network name.”
The company indicates that it will provide further updates when the appeal process concludes.
Meanwhile, it says the ability to use the Travel Leaders brand name in Canada has been granted by the court in unequivocal terms, and that planning is underway to use the single Travel Leaders brand throughout North America in the future.
