Google Attempted End Run Around Canadian Courts Fails, Rules BC Judge In Equustek Case

On April 16, 2018, a judge of the British Columbia Supreme Court dismissed Google's motion to vary or set aside the global injunction against it that had been affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada. The injunction required Google delist websites that were being used to market a product that Equustek claimed was developed through theft of its trade secrets. Mr. Justice Smith in Equustek Solutions Inc. v. Jack, 2018 BCSC 610 held that Google was not able to show that the global delisting order made by against it violated its First Amendment rights in the U.S. or the core values of the U.S..

The ruling is significant as it affirms the long standing jurisdiction of Canadian courts to protect the integrity of their own processes through orders directed to parties over whom they have  personal jurisdiction, even if the orders cannot be enforced in the home venues of foreign businesses such as Google and large social media companies.