Intellectual Property Law - SCJ

The plaintiff brought a summary judgment motion arising from alleged breaches of two settlement agreements prohibiting grey marketing of branded products in Canada.

The court rectified a misnamed party in the first settlement, held that the corporate defendants and the individual defendant were bound by and in breach of their respective settlement agreements, and rejected the defence that the agreements were void restraints of trade.

In applying the restraint of trade analysis, the court emphasized the settlement context, the plaintiff’s statutory rights as registered trade-mark owner, and the illegality of the imported products under federal labelling and packaging law.

Declaratory relief was granted, damages were referred to a Master for quantification, punitive damages were refused, and only a limited counterclaim remained.

The plaintiff former employer moved for an interlocutory injunction to enforce non-competition and confidentiality clauses against a former employee who invented a specialized technology.

The court applied the heightened 'strong prima facie case' standard for restrictive covenants in employment contracts.

While the court found a strong prima facie case that the employee breached non-competition provisions, it dismissed the injunction because the plaintiff failed to demonstrate irreparable harm, as damages could be quantified.

However, the court granted a preservation order regarding the disputed technology and related electronic records.