Our client obtained a landmark interlocutory injunction from the Québec Superior Court, marking the first known instance in the province where a judge has ordered the immediate transfer of a domain name and its associated email addresses at the interim stage.
The dispute arose following the termination of a distribution and trademark licensing agreement between itself and its ex-regional distributor. After the agreement ended, the defendants began marketing imitation products under a confusingly similar name, while continuing to use a domain name bearing our client’s name and related email addresses to promote their competing products and disparage our client’s.
The court described the situation as a “digital hostage-taking,” emphasizing that the defendants’ continued control over the domain enabled them to make misleading and harmful representations under our client’s name. Despite the high threshold for mandatory relief, the Court intervened to prevent further reputational and commercial harm, ordering the immediate transfer of the domain and email infrastructure to our client.
The Court relied in part on judicial precedents from Canadian common law tradition and benefited from the strategic cross-examination of the defendants’ representative, which exposed contradictions in his testimony and reinforced the urgency of judicial intervention.
This decision restores the client’s control over its Canadian web presence and access to its customer base, while also allowing it to recover emails sent under its brand—likely strengthening its claims on the merits.
The remaining issue concerning the use of the confusingly similar name and the recall of related products and materials has been deferred to trial.
A Fasken team composed of Marc James Tacheji, Patricia Hénault and Camille Peltier represented this client.
Jurisdiction
- Québec
