News broke recently that Tweed, Inc., a subsidiary of Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth Corp., filed a Canadian trademark application on August 31, 2018 for CHRONIC BY DRE, which they subsequently withdrew, apologizing and calling it a mistake. As we’ve written before, the number of trademark filings covering cannabis and cannabis-related goods and services in Canada has increased dramatically since the cannabis legalization process began. This rush to file cannabis trademarks in Canada could have been what spurred Tweed’s employee to rashly file the CHRONIC BY DRE mark without obtaining the artist’s consent and without having any sort of licensing deal in the works. (No matter what jurisdiction you’re in, don’t ever file for trademark protection for a mark that is already affiliated with a celebrity, hoping to beat them to the punch.)
The application filed for CHRONIC BY DRE covered a wide range of goods including body lotion and body creams, essential oils, personal preparations containing cannabis or cannabis derivatives, sunglasses, housewares, jewelry, stationery, pet accessories, clothing, dog and cat toys, beverage products, smoking products and accessories, and “cannabis and marijuana and derivatives thereof, namely live plants, seeds, dried flowers, liquids, oils, oral sprays, capsules, tablets, and transdermal patches.” That’s pretty broad.
For anyone familiar with the trademark application process in the United States, this specification makes Tweed’s registration of the CHRONIC BY DRE mark seem unattainable, but in Canada, it is not (setting aside the fact that Tweed does not have any deal in place with Dr. Dre himself). In the U.S., as we’ve covered extensively, in order to obtain federal trademark protection, your mark must be in lawful use in commerce (or, if you’re filing an intent-to-use application, you must have a bona fide intent to use the mark lawfully in commerce at the time of filing). This precludes the federal registration of any mark for use on goods or services that violate the federal Controlled Substances Act.
And in fact, Andre Young AKA Dr. Dre filed a U.S. federal trademark application for CHRONIC BY DR. DRE way back in 2013, and it was ultimately abandoned. The examining attorney at the time inquired into whether the goods contained marijuana because if they did, the mark would not be eligible for registration.
But back to Canada, where it is possible to obtain a trademark registration for cannabis, and where Dr. Dre would likely be successful (barring other legal obstacles) in obtaining such a registration for CHRONIC BY DRE. Even though it is relatively straightforward to obtain a trademark for cannabis goods or services in Canada, there are many restrictions placed on how those cannabis trademarks can be used via the proposed cannabis regulatory framework. For example, cannabis trademarks may not be used to promote cannabis goods:
- In a manner that appeals to children;
- By means of a testimonial or endorsement;
- By depicting a person, character or animal, whether real or fictional;
- By presenting the product or brand elements in a manner that evokes a positive or negative emotion about or image of, a way of life such as one that includes glamour, recreation, excitement, vitality, risk, or daring;
- By using information that is false, misleading or deceptive, or that is likely to create an erroneous impression about the product’s characteristics, value, quantity, composition, strength, concentration, potency, purity, quality, merit, safety, health effects or health risks;
- By using or displaying a brand element or names of persons authorized to produce, sell or distribute cannabis in connection with the sponsorship of a person, entity, event, activity or facility, or on a facility used for sports, or a cultural event or activity; and
- By communicating information about price and distribution (except at point of sale).
For cannabis business owners in the U.S., it may make strategic sense to consult with a trademark attorney with experience filing cannabis-related applications to consider whether Canadian trademarks make sense. Because successful brands will be those that think globally, not nationally.
For more on Canadian branding (and marketing) regulations, check out my recent post here.