Red square from Quebec’s student protests can’t be used as a trademark

MONTREAL – The red square that became emblematic of the 2012 Quebec student protest movement cannot be used as a trademark, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office has ruled.

The decision was rendered last December but a Quebec student federation said Monday it waited until the appeal period was over before speaking about it.

Businessman Raymond Drapeau wanted to register the symbol as a trademark so he could sell various items including T-shirts, cups and towels.

The intellectual property office’s Trademark Opposition Board rejected Drapeau’s request.

The little red square, often made of felt and worn on clothing, was omnipresent in 2012 as students hit the streets in thousands to protest planned tuition hikes.

“It’s a real victory for the federation,” Rose Crevier-Dagenais, president of the Federation etudiante collegiale du Quebec, said in a statement.

“The red square is a powerful symbol in the student community as well as in society in general and it is essential that it remain a public good.”