Is Caribana a word in the public domain?
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| Poster for Swiss Caribana Music Festival |
By Stephen Weir
No matter what you might see on the
official logo, for the past 52 years the citizens of Toronto and visiting
carnival tourists call this amazing festival and parade simply Caribana.
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| Caribana Swimsuit |
Caribana is the name that just won’t go
away. So embedded is the name in our collective psyche the first
Monday in August is always been called the Caribana holiday.
There are Caribana parties, cruises and
concerts. Stores have Caribana specials;
hair dresses have stay open late for Caribana treatments. There are even
Caribana porno movies!
So pervasive is the name that it appears
that no one has ever called an August 1st fete a Lord Simby law Lord Simcoe Day).
The actual word Caribana is trademarked
and is owned by the Caribana Arts Group. The CAG is the current name for the
organization that came up with the Caribana moniker more than half a century
ago.
They have defended their trademark and
ownership as best they can. In 2011 they successfully settled a lawsuit with
the Scotiabank and the Festival Management Committee (the owners of the current
festival known the Toronto Caribbean Carnival).
Why?
Scotia and the FMC violated the trademark when it “named and advertised
the festival as the ‘Scotiabank Caribana Festival,’ ” beginning back in 2008.
Looking back now at that $800,000
lawsuit, Knia Singh, the CEO of the CAG at the time, told the Caribbean Camera
that “Caribana is the most powerful and important asset owned by the
community.”
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| Logo for Barbados distilled Caribana Sol Rum |
“The FMC use of the name without the
Caribana Board’s permission was the most significant violation of the
community’s trademark. It displayed a disregard for the founders of the
festival and the community at large.”
After the lawsuit was settled both the
sponsoring bank and the Festival Management Committee went to great pains to
remove all references to the Caribana name.
As a person who worked in the FMC offices at the time, the Caribana name
was only said in whispers and never in public.
Since then things have eased between the
trademark owners and the FMC. Although
there is talk of the Caribana name coming back to the parade, it doesn’t appear
that the matter is on the front burner.
“To me it is advisable that the current
Carnival goes back to calling itself Caribana, “ said Ken Bruzual
publisher of the Treasure Chest and one of the pioneers of Caribana. “That is
because the name ‘Caribana has entered in the universal public domain.”
Knia Singh says the festival might use
the Caribana name again, if it came to a financial arrangement with the CAG in
terms of a paying licencing fee. Singh though is not in favour of a straight
fee based arrangement.
” They should either work for Caribana
or pick a different date and time and start their own festival instead of
living off the backs of other people's hard work.
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| Caribana Thong |
Kal Juman, the FMC sponsor and
partnership executive told the Caribbean Camera, that the Caribana name could
be brought back but it may have had its day.
“There seems to be a new outlook by many
in the community to put the past behind them and to move forward in a more
collaborative manner. If we had the
right to use the name, my preference would be to name a specific program or
event Caribana.” Juman said. ”Who knows what the future may bring?”
Like Singh, Juman agrees that a Caribana
name change could take place but privately isn’t in favour of it.
“ This is my personal opinion and not an
FMC’s official position,” he continued. “We are now in 2019 and the festival is
no longer for Caribbean immigrants, but rather Canadians who are fans of
Caribbean culture. Plus, every other Carnival in the world does not have
a name like Caribana ... they are just called Trinidad Carnival, Miami
Carnival, etc. “
One thing that both the FMC and the CAG
agree on, there is widespread misuse of the Caribana trademarked should be
curtailed. As Mr. Singh puts it
“Caribana is in the public domain, but it is trademarked, and therefore cannot
be used with permission or paying a licence fee if there is an intent to make
profit from use of the name.”
There are hundreds of products, events
and businesses that don’t give a damn about the Caribana trademark.
Caribana Nike shoes. Asian made skimpy
Caribana swimsuits. Sexy Caribana
thongs, Caribbean made Caribana Rum.
There are two major festivals that use the Caribana name – the Barbuda
Caribana festival, and the Swiss music festival. There are Caribana restaurants, Caribana
Spanish hotels and the list goes on and on.
“We should work with the rights holder
to be able to control the use of the Caribana brand and how it is used for the
simple reason that many still refer to the festival by that name,” said Juman.
Will it happen soon? Not in a Caribana
minute.
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