A recent decision of the Federal Court of Appeal, as
the trial judgement emphasizes, determined that the Trademarks
Act requires the court to consider and weigh all surrounding
circumstances – the factors set out in subsection 6(5) and
surrounding circumstances must be assessed and balanced. In
addition, evidence of actual confusion can be vital.
The Action
In Loblaws Inc. v. Columbia Insurance Company Loblaws
Inc
. 2019 FC 961 an action was brought by Loblaws against
Pampered Chef Ltd. and related corporations in the Federal Court
for trademark infringement relating to the well known
President's Choice marks. Loblaw and Pampered Chef each use
short form trademarks bearing the
letters “PC” to reflect
the “President's Choice” proprietary
Loblaw brand (the PC Marks) and the corporate
name “Pampered Chef” with the defendants (the
Short Form Marks). There was a design element consisting of a
stylized spoon between the two letters in Pampered Chef's
Short Form
