Ecolab USA Inc. (the "Plaintiff") was partially successful in establishing infringement, depreciation of goodwill, and passing off of its registered trademark ECOLAB by 2431717 Ontario Inc., which carried on business under the name 3D Eco Chemical Labs Canada (the "Defendant"). The Defendant had used a series of trade names and trademarks that included 3D ECO LAB, 3D ECO LABS, 3D ECO CHEMICAL LABS CANADA, 3D ECO CHEMICALS LABS CANADA, and a design mark comprising 3D ECO CHEMICAL LABS CANADA. Both the Plaintiff and the Defendant sold cleaning and disinfecting products.
The Defendant failed to file a Statement of Defence or any other documents in the proceeding.
The Court held that the Plaintiff had provided sufficient evidence to establish infringement, passing off, and depreciation of goodwill of its registered trademark in relation to the Defendant's use of the marks 3D ECO LAB and 3D ECO LABS, but not with respect to the other trademarks and trade names used by the Defendant. The Court granted injunctive relief and delivery up or destruction of material with respect to those marks, as well as transfer of the domain name www.3decolabs.com to the Plaintiff.
The Court also reviewed past decisions on ordering compensatory damages in default judgment cases, where the plaintiffs were deprived of discovery and the ability to determine the scope of a defendant's infringement and profits. Based on this review and having regard to the duration of the infringing activities and the Plaintiff's sales during that period, the Court awarded $15,000 in compensatory damages.
The full decision is reported here.
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