Date Of Acquisition May Be Used For Special Circumstances Excusing Non-Use Of Recently Acquired Trademarks

On January 9, 2026, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) issued its decision in Comité interprofessionnel du vin de champagne v Coors Brewing Company, 2026 FCA 2, dismissing an appeal of a Federal Court (FC) decision finding that the Registrar of Trademarks (the Registrar), committed no error in concluding that special circumstances excusing non-use existed for recently acquired trademarks.

The primary issue in this appeal was the determination of the starting point for the period of non-use for the purpose of determining special circumstances excusing non-use for recently acquired trademarks.

In 2024, the FC determined that the Registrar did not make a palpable and overriding error in using the date of acquisition of the trademarks as the starting point for the period of non-use to be justified and that special circumstances excused the absence of use during that period (2024 FC 169, as previously reported by the E-TIPS® Newsletter here).

On appeal, the FCA noted that the central issue in this case was recently addressed by the FCA in Centric Brands Holding LLC v Stikeman Elliott LLP, 2025 FCA 161 (previously reported by the E-TIPS® Newsletter here) (Centric Brands).  According to the FCA, Centric Brands authorizes a more flexible reading of section 45 of the Trademarks Act, permitting the date of acquisition of a registered mark to be used (depending on the circumstances) as the starting point for the period of non-use, thereby relieving the new owner of the burden of having to excuse the absence of use by the old owner.

Further, based on the evidence, the FCA found no palpable and overriding error in the findings of the FC or of the Registrar on the issue of special circumstances excusing the absence of use of the trademarks during the applicable period, and therefore there was no basis to interfere with the FC’s decision.

Summary By: Michelle Noonan