Can someone like me call myself a flight instructor even though my rating expired many moons ago, or do I need to go through the mind numbing process of renewing my flight instructor rating to be considered a real instructor?
Passing Off.
From Canada especially for Chuck;
s. 7 of the Canadian Trade-Mark Act, often plead at the same time as a passing-off action, and which read as follows (2007):
"7. No person shall
(a) make a false or misleading statement tending to discredit the business, wares or services of a competitor;
(b) direct public attention to his wares, services or business in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause confusion in Canada, at the time he commenced so to direct attention to them, between his wares, services or business and the wares, services or business of another;
(c) pass off other wares or services as and for those ordered or requested;
(d) make use, in association with wares or services, of any description that is false in a material respect and likely to mislead the public as to
(i) the character, quality, quantity or composition,
(ii) the geographical origin, or
(iii) the mode of the manufacture, production or performance
of the wares or services; or
e) do any other act or adopt any other business practice contrary to honest industrial or commercial usage in Canada."
Pasing onself off as an instructor would cause the public to expect a certain qualification and current experience. Misguided as that may be (I symphatise with your comments regarding inexperieced pilots who are instructors providing poor quality instruction), it does not change the law.
There would also be the not simple task of obtaining insurance to operate as an instructor when not so qualified.
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Finally, why come to an instructor forum and post several posts discussing how crap instructing and instructors are. Did you expect to elicit some special reaction?