Evolution Technologies Earns Two Crucial IP Victories In The Federal Court Of Appeal

The Federal Court of Appeal has now fully reversed a judgment of the Federal Court of Canada that had threatened to devastate the business of Evolution Technologies Inc. ("Evolution"), a Canadian-owned designer and manufacturer of four-wheeled walkers ("rollators") and other mobility-aiding devices. The effect of this result is that Evolution will continue to provide the Canadian marketplace with its premium, high quality, sturdy, safe and innovative rollators.

The Underlying Patent Infringement Trial

Julian Liu, Evolution's founder, started his business in the summer of 1994 in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. Since then, Julian has focused Evolution on product development, introducing new models each year in what has become a popular and diverse product line. Evolution's efforts have resulted in nine issued Canadian patents.

In the summer of 2012, the predecessor to Human Care Canada Inc. ("HCC"), another mobility-aiding device company, commenced a patent infringement action against Evolution in the Federal Court.

In December 2018, on the eve of the holiday period, a judgment was issued by the Federal Court enjoining Evolution from making, importing and selling its best-selling line of products, its Xpresso rollators, and ordering it to pay more than $12 million to HCC on account of patent infringement. See: Human Care Canada v. Evolution Technologies, 2018 FC 1302 (the "trial judgment").

Evolution's Successful Stay Motion

With its very existence at stake, Evolution retained the Goodmans IP Team, led by Andrew Brodkin, Richard Naiberg, Jordan Scopa and Jaclyn Tilak, to take over its legal representation. The Goodmans IP Team immediately set about bringing an appeal of the trial judgment to the Federal Court of Appeal and seeking an emergency stay of the trial judgment so that Evolution's business would not be disrupted pending the outcome of the appeal (the "stay motion").

Within one week, the Goodmans team assisted Evolution to collect substantial factual and expert affidavit evidence that would show the Federal Court of Appeal that Evolution would suffer irreparable harm and be unable to pursue its appeal if it were required to satisfy the monetary award in the trial judgment and that it would suffer irreparable reputational and economic harm if required to comply with the injunction.

Evolution also undertook to put in place a number of safeguards in the operation of its business to ensure that HCC would not be financially prejudiced...