A B.C. Supreme Court judge has issued a temporary injunction forbidding Adidas Canada from using the name “Terrex” for its Kitsilano store, until a trademark infringement case goes to trial.
The decision is a partial and temporary victory for Arc’Teryx, a Vancouver outdoor gear and apparel store.
After Adidas Canada opened a retail outlet at 2235 Fourth W. Ave. in Kitsilano in January 2023, Arc’Teryx went to court seeking an injunction to restrain Adidas from using the name “Terrex” for the retail outlet, saying it was too close to Arc’Teryx’s own trademarked name.
As BIV reported in February, Arc’Teryx claimed in its lawsuit that Adidas’ use of the Terrex brand has “directed public attention to its services and business in such a way as to cause, or likely to cause, confusion in Canada with the services and business of Arc’Teryx.”
The B.C. Supreme Court responded Tuesday with an interlocutory injunction restraining Adidas from using the name for its Kitsilano store, until the trademark infringement suit can be heard.
Arc’Teryx was founded in Vancouver in 1989 and owns stores across Canada, including five in the Vancouver area.
Adidas AG, a German apparel store noted for its running shoes, has a subsidiary called Adidas International Marketing BV, which owns the “Terrex” trademark in Canada, and has done so since 2010. It also has a trademarked logo -- three "performance bars" that form a triangle.
Arc’Teryx argued that the way the two trademarks were combined on the Kitsilano store -- with the word "Terrex" preceded by the triangular performance bars in an "A" shape -- made it likely to be confused with "Arc’Teryx."
In January 2023, Adidas had a grand opening for its new “Terrex” retail store in Kitsilano. The court notes that “adidas” appears nowhere on the storefront.
Whereas Arc’Teryx was seeking an injunction against Adidas’ use of the name “Terrex” on any and all retail outlets, Justice Nigel Kent limited the injunction to just the one store in Kitsilano.
He also noted that “this is only an interlocutory injunction and is premised upon the parties actually proceeding to trial.”
