Ontario Superior Court Grants Interlocutory Injunction Against Use of Phrase “The Best Internet Experience in Your Neighbourhood”

In Bell Canada v Cogeco Cable Canada (2016 ONSC 6044), the Ontario Superior Court granted an interlocutory injunction against Cogeco Cable Canada GP Inc (Cogeco) for its use of the phrase “the best Internet experience in your neighbourhood” on advertisements for Cogeco’s cable services. Bell Canada alleged that the phrase constituted a false and misleading representation and was prohibited under the Competition Act and the Trade-marks Act.

Cogeco provides Internet services using hybrid fiber co-axial cables (Cable/HFC). Bell Canada, in contrast, has delivered Internet services through Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) or fiber-to-the-home (FTTH).  Both parties agreed that a CRTC Report, concluding that FTTH and DSL both outperform Cable/HFC in speed and reliability, represents the best publicly available recent comparison of Internet technologies.

Cogeco conceded that it could not claim to provide the fastest Internet service in every neighbourhood, but argued that the phrase was used in a qualitative manner, including factors such as customer service. The Court disagreed, finding that the phrase makes a singular claim to “the best Internet experience” (which would include speed and reliability as critical factors), and the reference to “your neighbourhood” identifies a specific area for each consumer. Therefore, the Court concluded that there was a serious question to be tried regarding whether or not Cogeco’s representation is false and misleading.

The Court also found that Bell Canada established irreparable harm, since it would not be possible to determine with any certainty which customers were misled by this statement. In addition, the Court factored in the public interest when considering the balance of convenience between the parties, as it was sufficiently concerned about the phrase’s potential to mislead consumers.

Summary by: David Bowden