The Supreme Court dismissed the passing-off appeal based on the technical configuration of interlocking construction bricks.
The dispute involved Kirkbi and LEGO sought to prevent Ritvik, later known as Mega Bloks, from marketing interlocking construction bricks with functional stud and tube geometry. LEGO's patent protection for the system had expired. Kirkbi relied on asserted unregistered trademark rights and passing off under the Trade-marks Act.
The central question was Whether section 7(b) of the federal Trade-marks Act was constitutionally valid, whether purely functional product features could constitute an enforceable trademark, and whether the requirements of passing off were established.
Parliament could provide a passing-off remedy integrated with its valid trademark scheme. But functionality doctrine barred Kirkbi from using trademark law to renew exclusive control over the mechanical brick configuration once its patent expired. The asserted mark comprised technical features of the product itself, and Kirkbi did not establish its claim.
Disposition: Appeal dismissed unanimously; Kirkbi's passing-off action failed.
Primary source: Supreme Court of Canada, Kirkbi AG v. Ritvik Holdings Inc., 2005 SCC 65. Full official reasons.