To many, LoLo is North Vancouver’s hippest neighbourhood. To some, it’s free-wheeling philosophy of life. And yet to others, it’s also a boozy drink for sale in B.C.
A dispute over who can legally use the term in their branding is now going before the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
Scott McArthur, owner of Raglan’s Bistro on Lonsdale Avenue, had been using the term on his menus and in the restaurants since about 2005. He first trademarked LOLO in 2013.
But in the fall of 2024, it was brought to his attention that Strathcona Beer Company had launched the LOLO Drink Company, a line of canned tequila fizz cocktails using the LOLO name and was selling them out of Strathcona North brewery location at Lonsdale Quay.
The trademark bore an “uncanny” similarity to his own, he said.
He sent a cease and desist letter and, less than eight hours later, Strathcona filed an application with Intellectual Property Office to have McArthur’s LOLO trademark expunged.
The office’s trademarks opposition board can have an existing trademark snuffed out if the owner can’t demonstrate its continued use, but McArthur said there is ample evidence his LOLO is alive and well.
He has prepared a 135-page document detailing his long history using LOLO as well as Strathcona’s more recent efforts using the term to market their products.
“This misleads and creates confusion among the consumers,” his written submission states.
Somewhat paradoxically, despite the two businesses being within 185 metres of each other in Lower Lonsdale, neither of them – officially – draws its name from the neighbourhood.
Before it was the shorthand for Lower Lonsdale or a canned cocktail, LOLO was a term McArthur admired and used in his island-themed restaurant because of its association with Hawaiian surf culture and low-rider cars and bikes.
“I see LOLO, in the big picture, as a way of looking at the world. It’s a whimsical way of looking at life over here on the North Shore with a little more of an island mentality,” McArthur said.
The LOLO Drink Company’s website offers its own origin story for the name.
“Lower sugar, lower calories. That’s LOLO,” the slogan reads.
No one from Strathcona Beer Company or their trademark agent’s office returned North Shore News’ requests for comment.
Even before the dispute began, McArthur had applied to expand the trademark to other products and services and was preparing to rebrand his restaurant to LOLO and use the Raglan’s name for other projects he’s working on.
The board has given McArthur a deadline of March 24 to submit his written arguments and evidence in defence of the trademark, but before even addressing the merits of who should have a right to LOLO, McArthur is asking the board to dismiss Strathcona’s application on the grounds that it was filed in bad faith.
“We submit to the oppositions board for consideration that due to the close proximity of the receipt of the cease & desist letter and the Section 45, it is highly likely that Strathcona used the Section 45 as a tool to hinder, intimidate, retaliate or financially burden the LOLO® trademark,” the submission states.
If McArthur is successful in defending his brand with the board, it will still fall to him to have his trademark enforced, which may require time in court.
If the trademark is expunged, it becomes fair game for anyone to use.
But seeing his trademark showing up on cans, clothing and rapidly proliferating marketing materials, McArthur said it felt like bullying and he chose to make a stand.
“Emotionally, I think that I felt sort of like someone was trying to steal my bike,” he said. “We’re a business that’s been using LOLO for roughly 20 years in Lower Lonsdale as a mark, and our perspective is that a large corporation has come in and essentially tried to capitalize on what we’ve been doing.”
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