- Parties: The plaintiff was Sea Tow Services International, Inc. The defendant was C-Tow Marine Assistance Ltd. 

- Subject Matter: On Apr. 28, 2022, the plaintiff filed a statement of claim alleging that the defendant infringed its rights in the Sea Tow marks. The defendant filed a defence and counterclaim contesting the validity of the Sea Tow marks. On Sept. 29, 2023, the plaintiff filed a notice of motion in the action to seek summary judgment. 

- Ruling: The court granted summary judgment in the defendant’s favour. Regarding the plaintiff’s Canadian trademark registration numbers TMA870,561 and TMA870,562, the court declared that the defendant was a previous user of the confusingly similar C-Tow marks within the meaning of ss. 17(1) and 16 of the Trademarks Act, 1985, in force as of Sept. 9, 2010. The court declared that the Sea Tow Marks were thus contestable, given that the plaintiff knew of the defendant’s previous use of the confusingly similar C-Tow marks within the meaning of s. 17(2) of the Act. The court agreed with the defendant’s defence and counterclaim alleging that Canadian trademark registration numbers TMA870,561 and TMA870,562 were invalid due to the defendant’s previous use of the C-Tow marks. 

- Date: The hearing was set on July 9, 2024. The court released its decision on Jan. 6, 2025. 

- Venue: This was a federal case before the Federal Court. 

- Amount: The court reserved the decision on costs of the motion.