It’s not very welcoming. It’s certainly not very neighbourly.
Businessman Nick Slater, pursuing compensation from groups using his trademarked slogan to welcome visitors to town, insists he’s doing it on principle, not because he makes any money from his trademark.
The flaw in that argument is that the principle role of a trademark is all about protecting property so others don’t make money off of it.
So, why is Nick Slater, owner operator of the Zeuter Development Corporation, chasing a non-profit snowmobile club for $23,000 just because the group has welcomed visitors to town? In our opinion, the answer is simple: greed.
The snowmobile club is operated through the sweat and, unfortunately, blood of local volunteers. Club members foster their own recreational hobby and provide a trail network that, through tourism, helps the Town of Parry Sound and surrounding communities prosper. Tragically, the club lost a member of its volunteer group when a grooming machine went through the ice two years ago, and was then hit with the devastating costs of Ministry of Labour fines. Now, rather than pitch in, a local businessman hopes to “recoup” what he argues is rightfully his – revenue tied to his trademarked slogan. Problem is, this slogan is not Slater’s brainchild. It was not cleverly put together over a doodle-pad in his basement. Residents, civic groups and businesses have been welcoming people to Parry Sound for decades. Slater admits he’s not making money off the slogan, he’s just protecting what’s his.
He’s also seeking compensation from the Town of Parry Sound. In doing so he is indirectly asking all town taxpayers to dip into their pockets to pay him for the publication of a phrase the town has likely used since its inception. Why? Well, he quietly assumed ownership of it because silly trademark laws allowed him to.
Most of us know the slogan is not his, regardless of what Industry Canada says. Why hasn’t anyone else taken ownership of the phrase? Because common sense has prevailed – until now. Now greed has reared its ugly head. We’re hoping, as this ridiculous trademark battle makes its way to arbitration, common sense wins, and Nick Slater loses. Or, he could just realize his faux pas and let non-profit groups and taxpayer entities continue to welcome visitors, as they have done for years and years.