US Postal Service loses bid to trademark terms such as ‘first-class mail’

The Federal Court has tossed out a bid by the United States Postal Service to trademark such common terms as “first-class mail” in Canada. The recent ruling means Canada Post can continue to use the term and a dozen others. It had asked for a judicial review after the registrar of trademarks allowed the USPS to adopt 13 terms for use in Canada. Those terms included “priority mail,”
“first-class mail” and “signature confirmation,” as well as the USPS eagle logo. Justice Anne Mactavish ruled that because the USPS is not a public authority in Canada, it cannot use a clause in the Trademarks Act that protects official marks.