<i>Part 1 of a 2-part series.</i> Why should U.S. franchisors care about Canada and Canadian franchise law? Savvy franchisors realize that Canada's population is about the same as California's, and that the tastes of many Canadians are similar to (and molded) by their American counterparts. Also, U.S. franchisors' investment in Canada is facilitated under the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Investment Canada Act. While there are certainly similarities between the United States and Canada in the law respecting business-format franchising and trademarks, there are some major differences as well — some subtle; others not so subtle.
Markus Cohen, Q.C., LL.M.Part 1 of a 2-part series.
Why should U.S. franchisors care about Canada and Canadian franchise law? Savvy franchisors realize that Canada's population is about the same as California's, and that the tastes of many Canadians are similar to (and molded) by their American counterparts.
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An annual tradition continues as we present the responses to our Legalweek question. For 2026, it was "where are we with prompting"?
The volume and sophistication of work hitting law firm marketing departments is accelerating. That moves the burden from responding to being ready: ready with differentiated positioning, ready with competitive intelligence, ready to get a compelling pitch to the right client before a formal process even begins. That requires more sophisticated output, produced faster, by teams that are already stretched past capacity.
In categories where products are difficult to differentiate on performance, and that describes most of the AI industry today, customers do not choose on features, they choose on trust. Brand integrity, in those markets, is a material business asset.
The annals of copyright decisions could provide a reasonably representative catalog of what our culture has been up to over the past 200 years. A Feb. 3 decision from the Southern District of New York is a case in point. It involves a sex-trafficking conspiracy, Tweets attacking a troubled crypto firm, and a claimed transfer of copyright ownership through a restitution order in a criminal case, all over an undercurrent of competing First Amendment and victim-privacy concerns.
Matthew McConaughey secured eight federal trademark registrations covering his voice and iconic catchphrases in a novel legal strategy aimed at combating AI’s unauthorized use of his voice and likeness. The move signals an important evolution in the power dynamics between talent/brands and the companies providing generative AI tools.
