Spirit Bear

[Ken7]

This is not about religion, it is about money and the exclusive right to continue to sell trinkets to tourists. If you cared about the bear as much as you portray to, you would applaud this company for promoting the conservation of the bear and it's habitat. Instead you claim some superior moral authority as if only First Nations can truly care about the animal. You put forth this malarkey as LW says, and then you wonder why non natives are hesitant to engage you in meaningful discussions and are always gun shy for fear of ulterior motives.

The company claims they chose the name as a commitment to the environment and the spirit bear.

Each Spirit Bear bottle has the image of a bear in partial profile and a portion of the sales of each Spirit Bear branded bottle go to the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition, a not-for-profit organization that seeks to preserve the Kermode (‘Spirit Bear”) bears.

Very well stated!!

[A_Britishcolumbian]

ma·lar·key
məˈlärkē/

noun informal
1. meaningless talk; nonsense.

now that we know the dictionary definition of 'malarkey', please explain to me what part of what i have presented is nonsense? i hardly think the spiritual ideology of native peoples is 'malarkey'. but maybe religion in general is malarkey to you.

"This is not about religion, it is about money", care to back that up with some shred of evidence? you present it as fact, yet provide nothing more than your word.

i took a quick gander at the 'spirit bear youth coalition' website. i may contact them to get details about how they spend the money they raise.

SPIRIT BEAR YOUTH COALITION CAMPAIGN HQ:
Vancouver:

PO BOX 91933
West Vancouver, BC
V7V 4S4

SATELLITE OFFICES:
Victoria | Toronto | Ottawa | Los Angeles | London
http://www.spiritbearyouth.org/

as you can see they maintain offices in a number of cities, none of those cities being anywhere near the kitsoo's territory nor the kitimat, terrace or prince rupert area, where kermode bears are prevelant.

it has as well been presented here that 'spirit bear' appears in the dictionary. this is a flat out lie. the oxford english dictionary, nor the cambridge british english dictionary contain the term 'spirit bear'.

if Her Royal Highness is holding the mark in trust for the people of the spirit bear, then i would suggest that Her Majesty consult with the bear's people before making any decision as to the future use of the mark. this legal action referenced in the op would represent that consultation.

[FSmith59]

A comparable lawsuit initiated by Starbucks against a little cafe in Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte Islands.

Starbucks lost.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/bc- ... cle772078/

[twobits]

ma·lar·key
məˈlärkē/

noun informal
1. meaningless talk; nonsense.

now that we know the dictionary definition of 'malarkey', please explain to me what part of what i have presented is nonsense? i hardly think the spiritual ideology of native peoples is 'malarkey'. but maybe religion in general is malarkey to you.

"This is not about religion, it is about money", care to back that up with some shred of evidence? you present it as fact, yet provide nothing more than your word.

i took a quick gander at the 'spirit bear youth coalition' website. i may contact them to get details about how they spend the money they raise.

SPIRIT BEAR YOUTH COALITION CAMPAIGN HQ:
Vancouver:

PO BOX 91933
West Vancouver, BC
V7V 4S4

SATELLITE OFFICES:
Victoria | Toronto | Ottawa | Los Angeles | London
http://www.spiritbearyouth.org/

as you can see they maintain offices in a number of cities, none of those cities being anywhere near the kitsoo's territory nor the kitimat, terrace or prince rupert area, where kermode bears are prevelant.

it has as well been presented here that 'spirit bear' appears in the dictionary. this is a flat out lie. the oxford english dictionary, nor the cambridge british english dictionary contain the term 'spirit bear'.

if Her Royal Highness is holding the mark in trust for the people of the spirit bear, then i would suggest that Her Majesty consult with the bear's people before making any decision as to the future use of the mark. this legal action referenced in the op would represent that consultation.

Who cares where the damn offices are. The important thing is these people are actively trying to protect this unique animal and it's territory. You should be applauding and supporting this groups efforts as well as the distillery raising funds for it instead of worrying about First Nations' ownership rights to a name or logo. The bears best chance for survival is national and even international awareness of it's fragility. IMO the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition and the distillery thru it's brand have done more to promote the awareness of the Spirit Bear than the City of Terrance ever has or ever will be able to. Ditto that for the local Bands' tourist trinket shop.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

so, national geographic, that beloved 125 year old institution, claims "the spirit bear may owe its survival to the protective traditions of the First Nations, who never hunted the animals or spoke of them to fur trappers".

but in your opinion raising awareness, that is letting more people know they exist and where they can be found is a superior method of conservation?

disrespecting the the theology and ideology of the people that venerate this rare animal is not acceptable, and sharing the payoff of the disrespect with others that would also exploit this deified creature is pure gangsterism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermode_bear

[Always Sunny]

so, national geographic, that beloved 125 year old institution, claims "the spirit bear may owe its survival to the protective traditions of the First Nations, who never hunted the animals or spoke of them to fur trappers".

but in your opinion raising awareness, that is letting more people know they exist and where they can be found is a superior method of conservation?

disrespecting the the theology and ideology of the people that venerate this rare animal is not acceptable, and sharing the payoff of the disrespect with others that would also exploit this deified creature is pure gangsterism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermode_bear

Oh please, you act as if no one had heard of the Spirit/Kermode Bear prior to all of this.

Since you're using Wikipedia as a source why don't you cite this too:

"The bear's habitat is potentially under threat from the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, whose planned route passes near the Great Bear Rainforest.[9][10] Native groups including the Gitga'at have opposed the pipeline."

Maybe raising awareness of this animal will raise awareness in others about the potential impact of the pipeline.

Knowledge is power.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

at least mike urban, of urban distilleries inc., was good enough to admit his ignorance on the issue in this article.

Spirit Bear trademark at centre of legal dispute

by Kathy Michaels - Kelowna Capital News
posted Dec 13, 2013

A Kelowna business man says he’s going to fight to the bitter end to protect his company he says is being threatened by a greedy First Nation band and city.

Mike Urban of Urban Distilleries is in the middle of a trademark battle he says he was first forced into in 2011.

“I put through my own trademark, Spirit Bear vodka, before I opened up Urban Distilleries in 2010,” he said.

“I did my due diligence before I came up with my brands, and there was no issue with anything.”

Then, a year later he heard the City of Terrace and the Kitasoo First Nation opposed the trademark.

The Kitasoo First Nation and the City of Terrace say that defending the Spirit Bear trademark in court is in the best interests of the northwest.

“The Spirit Bear is associated with this part of B.C. and the City of Terrace wants to continue to maintain the uniqueness of its trademark,” said Terrace mayor Dave Pernarowski about the trademark infringement lawsuit filed against Urban Distilleries.

“Sometimes you have to push a little bit particularly when it’s being used on a product that isn’t the best representation for a special creature.”

According to Kitasoo technical advisor Larry Greba, “Anything associated with alcohol isn’t considered an appropriate use of the mark.”

Neither of those arguments hold much value to Urban, who believes their motivation is greed based. The Spirit Bear name has been used on other products, so long as there is a monetary exchange.

“I don’t know why else they would be doing this,” he said. “ I promote the bear and Terrace. I promote tourism. Now I’m going after zero tourism for Terrace. I just don’t understand, I just wanted to give back.”

Since the company started, Urban says he’s been putting aside proceeds from the sale of his products to benefit the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition.

And for the combined efforts of fundraising and promoting the region, he said he’s received “tons of support.”

“Many people who live in that area are saddened and disappointed in their city,” he said, pointing out that his Facebook page is filled with letters from people who have said as much.

And he’s hoping that written support will somehow translate into a legal win. If it doesn’t, the company he’s been building will die.

“I’d have to start from scratch… from day one,” he said. “I no longer have the means to get the brand off the ground.”

Urban says if you would like to help Urban Distilleries, donations can be made at any Scotiabank (acct # 80150 0212822) or you can help just by going to your local liquor store and picking up a Spirit Bear Vodka or Gin.

If the liquor store does not carry it, have them bring it in.

Help us stop the province from trademarking and making money off our wildlife.

•••

Terrace first trademarked the name in 2004, and then in 2006 the Kitasoo, which represent the Kitasoo and Xaixais who live at Klemtu on the north coast to mutually trademark the name and to share the cost of opposing other groups from infringing on the mark.

The province also trademarked the name after it became the official mammal of B.C. in 2006.

Since 2006, the Kitasoo and the city have successfully challenged three attempts by businesses to use the name Spirit Bear, and worked out agreements with at least one other to use the name, Spirit Bear Coffee Company in an agreement that saw money given to both Terrace and the Kitasoo.

Terrace, has also trademarked the names Kennode, Kennodei, and Moksgm’ol, lost a challenge this year to a phytoplankton company wanting to use the mark Kermode Warrior.

The Kitasoo only trademarked Spirit Bear and do not have an interest in these other names.

http://www.kelownacapnews.com/news/235806311.html

[Gone_Fishin]

so, national geographic, that beloved 125 year old institution, claims "the spirit bear may owe its survival to the protective traditions of the First Nations, who never hunted the animals or spoke of them to fur trappers".

but in your opinion raising awareness, that is letting more people know they exist and where they can be found is a superior method of conservation?

disrespecting the the theology and ideology of the people that venerate this rare animal is not acceptable, and sharing the payoff of the disrespect with others that would also exploit this deified creature is pure gangsterism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermode_bear

Give it a break. It's just a black bear. There are hundreds of thousands of black bears in BC. And the Indians shouldn't hunt white colour-phase black bears either- there is NO open season on them.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

while the speciation of the kermode bear may be arguable, the religion and ideology of the people remains sacred.

and with religion in mind, i do know of sikhs that hunt, i have never met a hindu that hunts, bears at least. not really sure what indians have to do with this discussion though.

[MikeU]

This is Mike, from Urban Distilleries. Just letting everyone know we have won the fight against the City of Terrace and the Indian band Council. There trademarks have been removed and Spirit Bear is now free to use by anyone. Here is the press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kelowna Distillery Saves Spirit Bear Brand

Urban Distillery wins dispute with City of Terrace and Kitasoo Band Council over the use of SPIRIT BEAR name.

Federal Court win for award winning distillery in long running trademark dispute with City of Terrace and the Kitasoo Band Council over the use of the SPIRIT BEAR name.

The decision of the Honourable Justice Martineau of the Federal Court in Federal Court Action T-700-13 released September 2, 2014 found that both the City of Terrace and Kitasoo Band Council’s Official Marks for SPIRIT BEAR were invalid, having been improperly registered. In particular Justice Martineau found that the SPIRIT BEAR marks had not been properly adopted, and had not been used as a mark. City of Terrace and Kitasoo Band Council were also ordered to pay costs to Urban Distillery.

City of Terrace and Kitasoo Band Council filed official marks for SPIRIT BEAR in 2003 and 2006 respectively, after which they began to work together to license the mark to businesses and collect royalty payments.

When first asked by the City and Band Council to stop using the Spirit Bear marks in 2011, Mike Urban, Owner and Master Distiller of Urban Distillery, refused to rebrand his award winning Spirit Bear Gin and Vodka lines. Mike Urban knew that the cost of rebranding could sink his fledging business, and believed he had a right to use the names freely. He had named the brand as a tribute to the Spirit Bear, the official mammal of British Columbia, and as a symbol of the purity and local nature of the artisanal Spirit Bear Gin and Vodka products. The Spirit Bear, also known as the Kermode Bear, is a white, non-albino subspecies of the Black Bear found in the northwest coastal region of BC.

After 4 years of uncertainty Urban Distilleries' legal team, lead by James Wagner of Magellan Law Group LLP achieved success on every ground decided by the Court. Urban Distilleries is now free to continue to use the SPIRIT BEAR as part of the description of its award winning Spirit Bear Gin, Spirit Bear Vodka, Spirit Bear Espresso, Spirit Bear Vanilla, and Spirit Bear Chilies products, which are available at the distillery in Kelowna, online at http://www.urbandistilleries.ca and at select BC Liquor Store locations.

This rare decision invalidating two official marks highlights an oddity of Canadian trademark law, where any government entity can apply for an Official Mark without an examination as to whether and how they used the mark. While for the most part, government agencies have been self-enforcing, opportunities for abuse persist unless the law is changed.

Urban Distilleries is Kelowna’s oldest and largest craft distillery. Founded in 2009 it has received numerous awards, including the GOLD MEDAL - California International SIP awards 2012 for Spirit Bear Gin, and Platinum MEDAL for Spirit Bear Vodka.

For further information concerning the Spirit Bear products and Urban Distilleries contact:

Mike Urban, Owner and Master Distiller of Urban Distilleries
http://www.urbandistilleries.ca [email protected] 778-478-0939

James J. D. Wagner, is a lawyer and trademark agent managing the Intellectual Property group at Magellan Law Group LLP, a full service law firm in Langley, British Columbia. Magellan Law Group LLP was recently voted Best Law Firm for the second year in a row in the Langley Advance Choice Awards.

For further information concerning the legal decision and its impact, or for a copy of the decision of the Honourable Justice Martineau, contact:

James J. D. Wagner at Magellan Law Group LLP
http://www.magellanlaw.ca [email protected] 778-726-0175

[Ken7]

Congratulations Mike!!

Finally someone telling them "NO" I just wish more would do the same!

[Lady tehMa]

Pardon the cynicism, but I wonder how long before someone plays the racism card . . .

[the truth]

just wait a few min lol