![]() "An attempt, in other words, to steal the likeness of the city from its millions of residents." "Whether or not the Tower presses their claim against Bow, they deserve to be humiliated on the national stage for this breathtaking attempt at legal bullying, in which they claimed to own a symbol that has become synonymous with Toronto itself," Doctorow concludes. Artists, newsgatherers and makers who use city buildings in their works could start to shy away from showing Toronto skylines out of the fear of legal threats. "If the CN Tower succeeds in this gambit, you can be sure they won't be the only ones who try it: Their example could lead every owner of every notable Canadian building to follow suit, so that a picture of the Toronto skyline taken from a harbour ferry could require fifty separate licenses before it could be published, and the same would be true for every Canadian city's skyline."ĭoctorow goes on to further explain the dangerous repercussions that such a claim (which he refers to as "flaming garbage") could bring about. ![]() "It's telling that the CN Tower embarked on its trademark trolling career by attacking a small press author who was unlikely to have the resources to defend himself," wrote copyright activist and author Cory Doctorow of the case on BoingBoing this week. ![]() Going after the author of a fantasy novel about urban goblins because the cover has the on it? Ridiculous. "It seems unlikely that CLCL is active in the business of publishing novels, let alone fantasy novels featuring a strong female protagonist who helps trolls and goblins succeed in the human world through her work at an employment agency."īow and Bucholz aren't alone in feeling that the CLCL may be overreeaching with their trademark claim here. "We understand that CLCL is the Crown corporation that owns the CN Tower, and that it is charged with stewarding and monetizing real estate assets formerly held by the federal government," it continues. "The purpose of trademark law is to prevent confusion in the marketplace for specific goods and services, and to stop bad actors from 'passing off' counterfeit goods as the genuine article," reads a portion of that letter shared with The Star. He asked the company behind the CN Tower to drop the matter in a letter on Wednesday. Toronto-based lawyer Ren Bucholz is now fighting on Bow's behalf. I think most people would be surprised to find that the CN tower wants to trademark on the image of the tower, even if you photograph it yourself or buy rights to a third-party photo. Either way, Bow found the demand "unreasonable" and, unwilling to scrap an entire run of already-printed books, he sought legal advice.
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