Do buses/skytrain stations infringe on NHL trademarks?
Posted May 20, 2011 9:33 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Maybe they’re not quite as as cool as the fanmobiles cruising Robson on any given game night, but some TransLink buses are flashing “Go Canucks Go” across their route signs up front. They’re also up on the billboards at various SkyTrain and Canada Line stations.
During a time when businesses from Vancouver to Montreal are feeling the wrath of the NHL for trademark infringement, can they do that? We tried to ask the Canucks, but they didn’t return calls.
TransLink‘s Drew Snider says they’re not trying to flaunt anything. “We’ve been running ‘Go Canucks Go,’ ‘Go Lions Go,’ ‘Go Whitecaps Go,’ and even ‘Go Canada Go’ during the Olympics and have never run into any problems.”
He says bus riders generally love it. “It’s a sign we’re all really into it. It’s hard not to be a Canucks fan when this sort of thing is going on in our city.”
“We’ve done it for all the games all through the season, so it’s not like we are band-bus jumpers or anything like that,” says Snider.
A car dealership in Vancouver was recently told to remove a “Go Canucks Go” sign from its window. The NHL has also cracked down on a restaurant owner in Montreal for displaying a picture of a Middle Eastern man in a Canadiens jersey.
