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ARTICLE · 29 APRIL 2026

Alberta Court Grants Injunction To Prevent Former CEO From Launching A Competing AI-Enhanced Product

MLT Aikins LLP
MLT Aikins LLP
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MLT Aikins LLP

MLT Aikins LLP

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An Alberta court has granted an injunction preventing a former CEO from launching an AI-enhanced education software product that competes with his previous employer's existing application. The ruling examines whether artificial intelligence enhancements alone can differentiate a new product from being considered competitive, while scrutinizing the executive's fiduciary duties and the enforceability of restrictive covenants negotiated during a business acquisition.

CanadaTechnology
Judd Blitt
Judd Blitt
Avinash Kowshik
Avinash Kowshik
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MLT Aikins was recently successful in obtaining an interlocutory injunction in the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta restraining an education software company’s former chief executive officer and his new company from launching an AI-enabled education software application that was found to be directly competitive with his former company’s existing product.

The decision underscores two common themes in the Court’s consideration of such applications, particularly in an employment context:

  1. Courts will scrutinize a senior executive’s conduct through the lens of fiduciary obligations, particularly duties of candour, avoidance of conflicts of interest, devotion of time to the corporation and preservation of corporate opportunities

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