BC court awards Arc'teryx injunction over Adidas' Terrex store in Vancouver

Vancouver activewear company Arc’teryx has won a temporary injunction that will force Adidas to drop Terrex from its 4th Avenue store.

Canadian brand Arc’teryx and German-owned Adidas have been involved in a court battle this year where Arc’teryx claims Adidas is infringing on its copyright entitlements with its 4th Avenue store that opened in December 2022  in the same block as Arc’teryx’s flagship Kitsilano location.

Adidas’ Terrex store doesn’t contain the word Adidas — simply the three-stripe triangular logo before “Terrex.” Arc’teryx argued the name of the store looks like A Terrex, which is very close to its own name and confusing for customers.

BC Supreme Court judge Nigel P. Kent agreed in his January 2 decision granting Arc’teryx a temporary injunction until the matter proceeds to trial.

“When one places an image of the Performance Bars and TERREX trademarks beside an image of the ARC’TERYX trademark, the similarity between the two and the potential for confusion is immediately obvious,” he wrote.

Arc’teryx also pointed to local media headlines as evidence for customer bafflement, including Vancouver Magazine’s “Adidas “Terrex” Store Opens in Same Kitsilano Block as New Arc’teryx Store, Confusing Everyone.”

In addition, private investigators hired by Arc’teryx spoke to employees at the West 4th Terrex store, who apparently admitted about 100 customers came into the store mistaking it for the Arc’teryx store down the road.

“It is a common mistake for shoppers to get the two brands mixed up,” one Adidas employee told the Arc’teryx-hired private investigator.

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When making his decision, Justice Kent noted that Arc’teryx possesses a trademark registration for its name, granting it the exclusive right to use it for retail store service. Adidas, on the other hand, has applied for trademark registration for Terrex, but the application is still pending.

Adidas opened the Terrex store down the street from Arc’teryx, knowing it didn’t possess the trademark, and apparently, over the course of court proceedings, declined to remedy the issue by switching the store banner to Adidas Terrex.

The injunction only applies to the Terrex store banner at the West 4th location. Justice Kent didn’t think the same confusion would apply to online shoppers, who must navigate to Adidas’ website to purchase Terrex gear or to Arc’teryx’s website for their merchandise. The injunction also leaves Adidas free to add the Terrex emblem to the clothing itself.