Interlocutory Injunctions - Rare, But Not Extinct

The recent decision in TFI Foods Ltd. and I-MEI Foods Co., Ltd. v Every Green International Inc. (2020 FC 808) confirms that injunctions in intellectual property cases, while rare, will still be granted when they are warranted. 

TFI Foods Ltd. (“TFI”) and I-MEI Foods Co., Ltd. (“I-MEI”) sought an interlocutory injunction to prevent Every Green International Inc. (“Every Green”) from selling or offering for sale any products bearing the I-MEI trademark, which also included a label indicating that Every Green was the exclusive distributor of I-MEI, when in fact it was not. TFI and I-MEI were unaware of the source of the I-MEI products sold by Every Green. However, the Court  held that the goods are likely “grey market goods” – namely, genuine goods produced by I-MEI that were imported to Canada without the approval of I-MEI.