WOW! Soon You Can Bank on It

This morning’s Globe and Mail contains a story about the application of the Toronto-Dominion Bank to obtain approval of the trademark WOW. Apparently, TD (having bought the New Jersey bank Commerce Bancorp) already has the trademark to WOW and WOW! in the United States.

A search of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office Trade-Mark database reveals that WOW, alone and in phrases, shows up in 180 applications, variously approved, expunged, abandoned etc. WOW, all by itself, has been approved as a trade-mark of, among others, Novartis AG veterinary preparations, Playtex in connection with “ladies’ underwear and foundation garments”, and for a wave-making machine by Servilog S.A., a Belgian company, none of which are likely to be confused with banking services.