Bill Hearn and John Rogers of Davis LLP co-presented with John Chimienti of Canadian Tire Corporation at the Canadian Franchise Association's Annual Law Day Conference on January 31, 2013.

Titled "The Latest Developments in Advertising & Marketing Law and Their Impact on Canadian Franchising," the presentation discusses the main advertising and marketing law implications for franchises of the following recent developments:

  1. the June 2012 Quebec Superior Court decision in the Dunkin' Donuts case on brand protection and promotion (currently under appeal);
  2. the February 2012 Ontario Superior Court decision in the Tim Hortons case as it relates to price maintenance under the federal Competition Act (appeal dismissed on December 7, 2012);
  3. the February 2012 Supreme Court of Canada decision in the Time case regarding the "general impression" test for determining whether an advertisement is deceptive and the appropriate use of disclaimers in advertisements; and
  4. the new policy, launched in November 2011 by Quebec's Office of the French Language, for interpreting the Charter of the French Language and the use of trade-marks in exterior store signage, and the October 2012 challenge in Quebec Superior Court of that new policy by seven multinational retailers that use English-only trade-marks (without French descriptors) on their Quebec store signage.

The presentation also included a discussion, in the context of these recent developments, of sample trade-mark, advertising & marketing provisions for a franchise agreement. A full paper on the subject is also available for download.

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