Adidas AG et al v. 2690942 Canada Inc. c.o.b. Campea will be of interest to litigators. Adidas commenced a claim against Campea alleging infringement of its 3-stripes trademark registration and its copyright registration covering the Euro 2004 logo. Following discoveries, the Federal Court was asked to rule on whether a series of questions required answers.

Prothonotary Morneau applied the six-part test set out in a 1998 decision, Reading & Bates Construction v. Baker Energy Resources Corp. which, stated briefly, requires a consideration of:

1. the relevance of documents, particularly whether they contain information allowing a party to advance its case;
2. the scope of the questions;
3. the relevance of questions in relation to the facts plead;
4. whether the questions advance a party’s legal position;
5. the usefulness of the information sought relative to the time and expense of obtaining it; and
6. the avoidance of fishing expeditions

In light of this test, Campea was required to provide the invoices related to the sale of its soccer shirts, although other related information had already been provided.

Adidas was required to produce further agreements and answer questions regarding sponsorship agreements. However, Adidas was not required to answer questions regarding proceedings instituted or judgments obtained in other jurisdictions, certain questions answered only in part since the usefulness of the additional information was not established, and questions regarding what documents supported certain allegations, since the questions sought to identify Adidas’ evidence.