The company behind the “Canada Is Not For Sale” hats worn by Ontario Premier Doug Ford sent a cease-and-desist letter to a B.C. business selling merchandise with similar phrasing.
The notice was sent on behalf of Ottawa-based Jackpine Dynamic Branding Inc. to Cutouts Canada, a print-on-demand service in Victoria, B.C., specializing in T-shirts, stickers and tote bags.
The letter calls on Cutouts Canada to stop the “unlawful use” of Jackpine’s pending Canada Is Not For Sale trademark.
“I basically had a minor panic attack right in the shop,” Bartosz Bos of Cutouts Canada said of his reaction when he received the letter on Thursday.
Bos said his items do not include the phrase “Canada Is Not For Sale.” Rather, they feature an image of the map of Canada with the words “Not For Sale” beneath it.
Premier Doug Ford wore the hat while speaking to reporters ahead of a premiers’ meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss Canada’s response to the threat of U.S. tariffs. It was designed by an Ottawa-based company in response to U.S. president Donald Trump’s recent musings about Canada becoming the 51st state.
Jackpine has filed to trademark the phrase, a request that is currently under review.
The cease-and-desist letter to Cutouts Canada says the Ontario premier wore a Jackpine hat emblazoned with the words “Canada Is Not For Sale” at a Jan. 15 press conference amid threats of U.S. tariffs. It says Jackpine experienced a surge in media attention afterward, “highlighting the brand’s unique message and products.”
For those reasons, “Jackpine has the right to exclude others from using the CANADA IS NOT FOR SALE Trademark or any trademarks that are confusingly similar to the CANADA IS NOT FOR SALE Trademark,” the letter reads.
Bos said the exact phrase “Canada is not for sale” did not appear on Cutouts Canada items, but did appear on its website. The language on the website has been tweaked, he said, and the law firm that sent the letter has confirmed that his company’s actions were sufficient and they consider the matter closed.
Bos said he has heard from other companies that also received cease-and-desist letters related to Jackpine.
“For them to just be so aggressive, really, is just disingenuous,” he said. “This is a time when Canadians should be coming together.”
John Simpson, a Toronto-based lawyer specializing in trademark and copyright law, confirmed it is possible to send a cease-and-desist letter for a trademark claim that is under review.
“If I’ve established goodwill and reputation in association with the trademark and you are using it in a way that is confusing … then I can sue you for passing off, which is sort of infringement of an unregistered trademark,” Simpson said, adding that it can take around two years for a trademark application to be reviewed.
Jackpine did not respond to a CBC News request for an interview.
