Doing Business in Canada: Protecting Luxury Brands From Counterfeiting (Part 3)

This article is Part 3 of Protecting Luxury Brands From Counterfeiting, a four-part series on the legal and practical issues luxury brands most often face when operating in or selling to Canada. Part 1 addressed the upstream question of legal and operational readiness. Part 2 turned to the border itself: the statutory framework, the operational mechanics of the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) Intellectual Property Rights (“IPR”) Program and the response planning a luxury brand should have in place before a detention occurs. Part 3 addresses issues that international brands commonly face when counterfeit goods are promoted or sold through online marketplaces, social media accounts, websites and abusive domain names.

Online enforcement usually combines Canadian trademark and copyright rights, platform-specific reporting tools, domain name dispute procedures, payment and fraud reporting, preservation of evidence and, where necessary, court relief. Unlike some other jurisdictions, Canada does not have a statutory notice-and-takedown regime. As a result, the removal of infringing listings typically occurs through a platform's own reporting channels, compliance with demand letters and, if necessary (but less commonly), by a court order. The practical objective is to remove infringing content quickly and cost-effectively while preserving sufficient evidence to identify repeat offenders and support broader civil, customs or criminal action.

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