Canada's TL Network to Rebrand as Travel Leaders Network
by Dori Saltzman /Photo: Travel Leaders
After a six-year legal battle the Federal Court of Canada has granted Travel Leaders Group, LLC the right to use the Travel Leaders trademark in Canada. The news was conveyed to Canadian travel advisors at Travel Leaders Network's annual EDGE conference being held this week in Nashville.
The decision, which was handed down on March 8, found that the trademark's previous owner, an Ontario company, had abandoned it.
As a result of the decision, Travel Leaders Group, a division of Internova Travel Group has filed new applications in Canada for the Travel Leaders trademark, as well as for the Travel Leaders Network trademark.
In the meantime, Travel Leaders Group will hold off on using the trademark in Canada, until all the decision making is final. The Ontario company has sought an extension of time to file an appeal, but has failed to retain counsel and is unlikely to be allowed to proceed without counsel.
"We're extremely gratified by the court's decision," said Roger E. Block, president of Travel Leaders Network. "This is a tremendous win for our company. Our brand is vitally important to us, and we've invested a great deal of time and energy defending it. We've already spoken to our Canadian members, and they're excited to start using the full official Travel Leaders Network name."
When the name change is eventually made, the website for Canadian members of the Tl Network will be redirected from tlnetwork.ca to the company's travelleaders.com website.
