The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has determined that registration of a trademark is a complete defense against claims for infringement and passing off. Travelway, a Canadian luggage distributor, owns a registered trademark featuring a cross that looked similar to the Swiss flag. Wenger, the Swiss company behind the Swiss Army Knife, had brought Travelway to court the trademark seeking expungement of the trademark. This was originally dismissed but subsequently allowed, remanding the issues to the Federal Court. In 2019, the Federal Court granted expungement, but dismissed Wenger’s claim for damages.
Wenger appealed this, with the sole issue being their entitlement to compensation. The Court of Appeal held Travelway was not liable for damages, because it owned a trademark, and absent fraud, willful misrepresentation or bad faith, a registered trademark is presumed to be valid.
This is different than the US, where a mark becomes incontestable only after 5 years has passed.