The Federal Court of Canada has again signalled its willingness to act decisively in the case of the counterfeiting of luxury goods in the Canadian marketplace.

In the latest chapter of the saga involving the counterfeiting of CHANEL brand products, Lam v. Chanel S. de R.L., 2017 FCA 38 (CanLII), the Federal Court of Appeal was faced with an appeal from the Federal Court’s re-determination of a motion for summary trial. In the original decision, the Federal Court had granted judgment in favour of Chanel, and had issued an award of $64,000 in damages $250,000 in punitive and exemplary damages, and $66,000 in costs. This original award was confirmed by the Court on a re-determination from the Federal Court of Appeal, as well as providing confirmation that the individual defendant, Lam, was personally liable for all four infringements. On appeal from this re-determination, the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on all grounds.

The Federal Court also found a defendant in a case involving the BURBERRY brand in contempt of court. (See Burberry Limited v. Ramjaun (Laguna Trading), 2016 FC 1188 (CanLII)

These decisions send a clear message that the Federal Court is prepared to take a strong position against counterfeiting, and particular against repeated instances of counterfeiting.