Superior Court of Quebec dismisses Newad injunction against Rouge Media Group
By Adnews Staff
The Superior Court of Quebec has dismissed injunctive proceedings brought by Newad Media against Rouge Media Group. Newad had alleged that it had complete exclusivity on any and all advertising vehicles in the establishments with which it held a licensed contract. The court ruling concludes that the exclusivity claimed by Newad is limited to the nature of the product it markets, which are different than those marketed by Rouge. "The ruling was great news for us after a long and taxing dispute between the two companies that was unfortunately taken outside of the courtroom more than it was in," said Martin Poitras, president of Rouge Media Group. "Not only is this great news for Rouge, it's great news for Canadian colleges, universities [restaurants and bars] in Canada who require supplementary income to operate within their highly competitive environments, as they are now free to seek ad revenue opportunities from a variety of suppliers if they so choose. This ruling is also noteworthy for the Canadian media buying community who may have been hesitant to invest in indoor advertising given the dispute put forward by Newad. In addition to Rouge, last week's ruling will benefit other indoor media operators, as it will prevent those from squatting on unfounded exclusivity clauses and allow those who wish to pioneer and develop new ways to connect marketers with consumers."