Patent Owner's Entitlement To Permanent Injunction In Canada Confirmed

In Uponor AB v. Heatlink Group Inc. et al., 2016 FC 320 ("Uponor"), the Federal Court of Canada awarded a permanent injunction after a finding that the asserted patent was valid and infringed, notwithstanding that the plaintiff did not practise the claimed invention. This case confirms that a patent owner's primary leverage in many patent cases, namely, the possibility of a permanent injunction, remains available in Canada, even where the patentee may not practise the patented invention.

Background

Much has been written in the past few years regarding the entitlement of a non-practicing entity ("NPE") to the full scope of relief typically awarded to a successful patent owner in a patent infringement proceeding.  In the United States, cases such as eBay v. Mercexchange have made it very difficult for NPEs who successfully assert a patent to obtain a permanent injunction. This and other trends in the United States patent landscape have arguably resulted in a U.S.