Edmonton Radio: Corus Wins 'Power' Battle

A temporary injunction being sought by Corus Entertainment has been granted, which will see an Edmonton radio station no longer be able to use the word “POWER” in its branding and advertising strategies.

According to Global News, the injunction was granted after a Calgary judge ruled Monday that she was “satisfied that the balance of convenience favours granting an interlocutory injunction.”

Corus has been embroiled in a legal battle with Harvard Broadcasting over the POWER 107 name used by Harvard’s FM pop music radio station in Alberta’s capital.

Corus sued the broadcaster in September, claiming Harvard was seeking to capitalize on the POWER 92 moniker, the former name of its FM radio station now known as 92.5 The Chuck.

“I have considered and weighed the fact that Harvard employees involved in the decision to rebrand the 107.1 station to POWER 107 anticipated that listeners from the 1990s and 2000s would remember POWER 92,” Justice Nancy Dilts wrote in her ruling.

“They designed the POWER 107 logo fully aware of the appearance of the POWER 92 logo — and they investigated the trademark registry and weighed the risks associated with using the POWER name and the POWER 107 logo.”

In the lawsuit it filed in September, Corus also applied for Harvard to cease the use of the POWER 107 name and logo. Corus had argued when Harvard changed its HOT 107 station to POWER 107 in August, it was wrongfully using the reputation of the POWER brand it had built with POWER 92 in Edmonton and with other stations across Canada.

The judge also noted that prior to the launch of Harvard’s POWER 107, Corus had used references to POWER 92 in its promotions, showing the name has “enduring value.”