An Ontario company, which offers television, telephone and Internet services in several provinces of the country, is attacking Bell Canada's trade mark FIBE, before the Federal Court, because it lacks distinctive character with the word English “fiber”.

Registering the first four letters of the word "FIBER" as a trademark would risk preventing independent internet service providers from using the word FIBE in their branding, SkyChoice Communications said in a statement Tuesday.

However, fiber optic technology “is now a key selling point when promoting fast and reliable internet service,” the company noted.

“Independent Internet Service Providers already operate at a competitive disadvantage largely due to restricted or prohibitive access to incumbent fiber optic facilities in Canada, one of the countries with the most expensive Internet service prices in the world. world," said SkyChoice CEO Serge Cormier.

The Ontario company, which offers television, telephone and Internet services in several provinces of the country, pointed out that Canadian regulations generally prohibit the registration of marks that can be confused with common words.