Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• Plaintiff lacked standing to bring a copyright infringement claim due to prior assignment of rights.

• Ownership of the software at various stages was not sufficiently alleged to support the claim.

• Legal conclusions within the pleading were not accepted as true for the purpose of the motion to strike.

• Affidavit evidence submitted by the plaintiff was inadmissible in this procedural context.

• Attempt to reinstate a corporate co-plaintiff did not cure the standing defect.

• Motion to strike was granted without leave to amend as the claim disclosed no reasonable cause of action.

Facts and outcome of the case

Background and procedural history

Adam McQuaig filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Enbridge Gas Inc. regarding a software program known as the EVC Prover software. Initially, the claim was jointly filed by McQuaig and a corporation he controlled, 11684108 Canada Inc. (referred to as “108 Canada”). However, in May 2025, 108 Canada discontinued its claim, leaving McQuaig as the sole plaintiff. Around the same time, he ceased being represented by counsel and proceeded self-represented.

The defendant, Enbridge, brought a motion to strike the claim entirely without leave to amend, arguing that McQuaig had no legal standing to pursue the claim.

The copyright claim and standing issues

The plaintiff alleged he was the sole author of the EVC Prover software and thus the first owner of copyright. He claimed that the defendant infringed this copyright after terminating his employment and continuing to use the software without a license. However, the claim also stated that McQuaig had assigned all of his copyright in the software to 108 Canada in 2019, after the corporation’s incorporation.

The court analyzed the software’s development timeline in three phases:

1. The original software and pre-2019 modifications were owned by McQuaig initially but later assigned to 108 Canada, removing his standing for those components.

2. Post-2019 features, developed while McQuaig operated through 108 Canada under a service contract, were also not owned by him individually.

3. Modifications made during McQuaig’s employment with Enbridge (2021–2023) were automatically owned by Enbridge under section 13(3) of the Copyright Act, as works created in the course of employment.

Because McQuaig no longer held copyright in any of the software components at issue, the court found he had no standing to bring a claim. Furthermore, the court concluded that simply adding 108 Canada as a party would not fix the deficiency, since McQuaig himself had no actionable right.

Procedural flaws and evidentiary considerations

The court noted that legal conclusions in the pleadings, such as assertions of ownership, were not accepted as fact on a motion to strike. Only factual allegations were assumed to be true. Additionally, McQuaig attempted to file affidavit evidence and a responsive motion, but these were either procedurally improper or inadmissible under Rule 221(1)(a) of the Federal Courts Rules.

Decision and outcome

The court struck the Statement of Claim in its entirety without leave to amend, holding that the fundamental defect of lack of standing could not be cured. As a result, the action was dismissed.

The defendant, Enbridge Gas Inc., was declared the successful party. The court ordered costs fixed at $1,000 to be paid by McQuaig. No damages were awarded as the matter was resolved at the pleading stage.