Hudson's Bay sues Quebec retailer alleging trademark infringement of Zellers brand
Hudson's Bay Co. ULC is suing a Quebec retail family over the use of the Zellers brand.
In a statement of claim filed in Federal Court, the company accuses the Moniz family of trademark infringement, depreciation of goodwill and so-called passing off -- the deceptive marketing or misrepresentation of goods.
The Moniz family is behind various recent trademark applications and corporate registries, including Zellers Inc. -- incorporated in June 2020 -- Zellers Convenience Store Inc. and Zellers Restaurant Inc.
The defendants could not immediately be reached for comment and a response to the claim has not yet been filed in court.
HBC claims that the use of the Zellers brand and trademark threatens to cause confusion between their goods and services and those offered by the Bay.
The retailer alleges that the intention of taking over the Zellers brand was to either "confuse Canadians or recover a payment from HBC."
HBC says in court documents that although it closed the last of its stand-alone brick-and-mortar Zellers stores in 2020, HBC continued to have plans for the brand and did not abandon the Zellers trademarks and logos.
The company launched a pop-up Zellers shop inside a Hudson's Bay store in Burlington, Ont., last summer.
HBC spokeswoman Tiffany Bourre said the pop-up Zellers store was intended to "delight our customers with a fun and nostalgic experience with one of HBC's most beloved brands."
The company is planning a second pop-up Zellers shop at its department store in Anjou, Que., she said.
Bourre added that the company filed the claim to protect its Zellers brand and avoid consumer confusion.
"The allegations in the claim relate to planned unauthorized third-party Zellers stores, among other unauthorized uses of the Zellers brand," she said in an email. "HBC intends to pursue this claim vigorously."
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
Investigators have finally revealed the identity of an unknown victim nicknamed 'Midtown Jane Doe,' who was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City two decades ago.