Toronto’s Fashion Santa just officially got his trademark
Earth's sexiest bearded Christmas character now owns an official certificate of registration from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office denoting his full, legal ownership of Fashion Santa: The name, the man, the brand.
Paul Mason, the Toronto model who went viral in 2015 as an atypically chic (and outrageously jacked) version of Kris Kringle, showed off his trademark registration on Facebook this week.
"The official trademark registration for Fashion Santa!" he wrote in a public post. "Looking forward to the 2018 season with the Fashion Santa Ritz-Carlton Tour and the first ever Not So Silent Night fundraising party."
Mason went on to thank his fans for their support. He also gave props to his legal team from Chumak & Company LLP, as well as Moose Knuckles founder Will Poho.
Mason's post puts a (Christmas) bow on the years-long legal dispute between himself and Yorkdale Mall for ownership of the Fashion Santa trademark and copyright.
"Two parties are claiming ownership and copyright of Fashion Santa, and being the creator of the character I have to stand my ground and force that I am the Fashion Santa," said Mason in 2016. "It was a pitch that went out to half a dozen retailers, and Yorkdale was the one that was more responsive than the others."
After hiring Mason to play the character he created in 2015, Yorkdale Shopping Centre replaced him in 2016 with a younger, "edgier" model. In 2017, it was yet another model playing Fashion Santa. Fans were not impressed.
Meanwhile, Mason said he couldn't use the brand until his lawyers got things straight (thought pretty much anyone and everyone still referred to him as Fashion Santa).
He announced in 2017 that the case against Yorkdale had been settled in his favour, and now, with trademark document in hand, he is once again Fashion Santa—the only Fashion Santa.
You won't catch him taking photos with Justin Bieber at the mall this year, but he'll be around. Follow him on Instagram for updates and confusing thoughts about Santa Claus.
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