Bauer Nike Hockey Inc. v. Easton Sports Canada Inc.

Bauer Nike Hockey Inc. v. Easton Sports Canada Inc.

Amendment to Bauer's Statement of Claim was permitted (subject to costs in the cause and timetable) because it was not clearly and obviously doomed to fail; most discovery questions were ordered to be answered where they were relevant to infringement or invalidity issues and not shown to be unduly onerous or privileged, outstanding undertakings must be complied with, and both party representatives must re-attend further discoveries at their own expense to answer ordered questions and proper follow-ups; specified refusals and overly broad or already-answered questions were sustained.

Citation
2005 FC 1014
Parties
Plaintiff (defendant by Counterclaim): Bauer Nike Hockey Inc.; Defendant (plaintiff by Counterclaim): Easton Sports Canada Inc.
Court
Federal Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
21 July 2005
Procedural Posture
Patent Infringement With Counterclaim for Invalidity / Motions Concerning Pleading Amendments and Discovery (pre Trial)
Outcome
Motions partly allowed and partly dismissed: Bauer's amendment allowed; specified discovery refusals overruled and answers ordered; some questions sustained as refused; outstanding undertakings ordered; schedule set for further discoveries and pre-trial steps.
Legal Topics
Patent Infringement, Patent Invalidity (obviousness, Prior Art, Utility), Discovery Obligations and Undertakings, Pleadings Amendment, Commercial Success as Secondary Consideration
Source Language
English
Intellectual Property Patent Law Civil Procedure Evidence and Discovery Patent Infringement Patent Invalidity (obviousness, Prior Art, Utility) Discovery Obligations and Undertakings Pleadings Amendment +1 more

Case Brief

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Parties

Bauer Nike Hockey Inc.

Plaintiff (defendant by Counterclaim)

Easton Sports Canada Inc.

Defendant (plaintiff by Counterclaim)

Procedural Posture

Patent Infringement With Counterclaim for Invalidity / Motions Concerning Pleading Amendments and Discovery (pre Trial)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether Bauer can amend its Statement of Claim to add allegations of commercial success and additional accused models
  2. 2 Whether specified discovery questions and undertakings must be answered by the parties' representatives
  3. 3 Whether certain questions are irrelevant, unduly burdensome or constitute fishing expeditions

Ratio Decidendi

Amendment to Bauer's Statement of Claim was permitted (subject to costs in the cause and timetable) because it was not clearly and obviously doomed to fail; most discovery questions were ordered to be answered where they were relevant to infringement or invalidity issues and not shown to be unduly onerous or privileged, outstanding undertakings must be complied with, and both party representatives must re-attend further discoveries at their own expense to answer ordered questions and proper follow-ups; specified refusals and overly broad or already-answered questions were sustained.

Court Disposition

Motions partly allowed and partly dismissed: Bauer's amendment allowed; specified discovery refusals overruled and answers ordered; some questions sustained as refused; outstanding undertakings ordered; schedule set for further discoveries and pre-trial steps.

Orders

  • Bauer allowed to serve and file an Amended Statement of Claim within 10 days of the order (as per Schedule A to its motion)
  • Easton ordered to comply with all remaining undertakings from examinations for discovery within 30 days of the order