Ontario Superior Court Quashes Domain Name, Passing Off, Copyright, and Trademark Infringement Claims in Boaden Catering v. Real Food for Real Kids

On June 30, 2016, in Boaden Catering Limited v Real Food For Real Kids Inc (2016 ONSC 4098), the Ontario Superior Court (ONSC) quashed all claims brought by the plaintiff, Boaden Catering Limited (Boaden), in a summary judgment motion. 

Boaden sought a declaration that it was the owner of the website owned by the defendant, Real Food For Real Kids Inc (RFRK), and further claimed for passing off and copyright and trademark infringement.  Boaden alleged that RFRK updated its website by borrowing ideas off Boaden.

RFRK operated the website www.RFRK.com for approximately 10 years, featuring the marks Real Food For Real Kids, RFRK and Real Food Lunch Club.  Boaden subsequently registered domain names for:

a) realfoodforrealkidss.com [sic]

b) realffoodforkids.ca [sic]

c) rfrk.ca

d) realfoodlunchclub.ca

The ONSC held that Boaden registered the domain names in bad faith for the purpose of disrupting RFRK’s business and seeking illegitimate financial gain.  Further, the ONSC noted that the common elements between Boaden and RFRK’s websites (such as the “About Us” and “Contact Us” website pages) were highly generic and commonly seen in many websites.  Accordingly, the ONSC dismissed Boaden’s claims for passing off and copyright and trademark infringement.

Boaden also claimed theft of trade secrets and corporate espionage because RFRK sent a private investigator, who posed as a prospective customer, to meet with Boaden.  The ONSC held that the information conveyed was not confidential and was not communicated in confidence, and accordingly dismissed this claim.

Summary by Robert Dewald