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The article, “Piercing the power of the patch: How trademark law could diminish the power of gang insignia”, broaches a new and unique topic for both intellectual property and criminal law academics and practitioners. The article examines trademark and copyright law in the context of criminal organizations, such as gangs. It sets forth the problem of enhanced gang reputation due to trademark and copyright protection, and analyses the extent to which trademark and copyright laws enable and empower gangs to use their insignia within non-commercial and commercial illegal enterprises. The article suggests nine ways in which amendments to the Trademarks Act, Copyright Act and Criminal Code will diminish the power of gang names and insignia, such as through government trademark registration of unregistered gang insignia; expansion of the definition of “offensive” and “scandalous” marks; stringent proof of the purposes of a mark; limitations on renewal and registration of a trademark; forfeiture and expunging trademarks used in a criminal offence; government expropriation of registered trademarks used in a criminal offence; mass distribution of gang trademarks; use of a trademark or trade name in different trade areas in order to deteriorate distinctiveness; and commercial use of a gang mark by law enforcement.
