Sleep Country Canada Inc. v. Sears Canada Inc., 2017 FC 148
Justice Kane - 2017-01-09
Read full decision. Summary prepared by Alan Macek:
The Court granted an interlocutory injunction against Sears' use of "There is no reason to buy a mattress anywhere else" having regard to Sleep Country's trademark, "Why Buy a Mattress Anywhere Else?" The Court found that Sleep Country had established irreparable harm. Another judge had earlier dismissed Sleep Country's motion for an interim injunction because irreparable harm had not been proven, which was distinguished based on the new evidence and new time period at issue. The Court found there was a likelihood of confusion based on its own assessment, as well as based on the expert evidence, and loss of distinctiveness. The loss of distinctiveness would lead to damage to goodwill that was not possible to calculate. The Court found it would be "difficult to the point of impossibility" to quantify Sleep Country's losses and an assumption by the defendant's expert about likely future events by the parties in support of the position that the losses were quantifiable, was found not to be supported by the evidence. The Court found the balance of convenience favoured Sleep Country, primarily given the short period that Sears had been using the slogan. The interlocutory injunction was granted until a final determination is made.
Decision relates to:
- T-1739-16 - SLEEP COUNTRY CANADA INC v. SEARS CANADA INC
- A-57-17 - which is an appeal from this decision