On December 23, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered an important decision on copyright infringement in Cinar Corp. v. Robinson. The Court affirmed the trial judge’s finding that Cinar infringed Claude Robinson’s intellectual property and allowed a considerable increase in the monetary relief the Quebec Court of Appeal awarded Robinson.

Introduction

As people carry out a variety of activities using computers and other digital devices, and as they inhabit a number of ‘places’ online, they develop things of value that are expressed in digital form. These ‘things’ take many forms: bank accounts, non-bank payment accounts, gambling receipts, auction holdings, virtual life empires, the list expands over time. Some of these assets are in known computer systems with known proprietors, others are in the cloud – meaning in some computer system or systems somewhere in the world, controlled by somebody in a meshwork of contracts.

So long as the power stays . . . [more]

Each Thursday we present a significant excerpt, usually from a recently published book or journal article. In every case the proper permissions have been obtained. If you are a publisher who would like to participate in this feature, please let us know via the site’s contact form.

Chasing Reputation: The Argument for Differential Treatment of “Public Figures” in Canadian Defamation Law
Bob Tarantino
(2010) 48 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 595

Excerpt: pp. 597-8; 628-30

(Footnotes omitted; they are available in the original, via the hyperlink above.)

A welcome development in some recent decisions is a movement away from describing the . . . [more]

Two articles I noticed this morning emphasize that while social media can bring its own set of legal issues, sometimes its use can have the same consequences as any other form of publication.

The first is a CBC news report that a man has been charged with criminal harassment for his tweets. He was charged a couple of years ago for derogatory and threatening messages. The case is now at trial.

The second is a post at ipblog.ca about a decision regarding an employment non-competition clause. It was alleged that the defendant had contacted customers in violation of confidentiality obligations. . . . [more]

While it’s premature to call it a trend, Winnipeg-based law firm Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP (TDS) has once again merged with a small local law firm based in Western Manitoba, and thereby expanded its reach to Manitoba’s western borders.

Brandon-based Roy Johnston LLP operated for some 30 years, most recently as a six-lawyer firm. Managing partner Paul Roy told the Winnipeg Free Press that the merger is a response to the changing needs of firm clients who are engaged in more complex legal transactions:

“When we started out, we were doing simple farm deals and house deals. The institutions and

. . . [more]

At the end of November the federal government unveiled a new international trade policy, describing it as a “sea change in the way Canada’s diplomatic assets are deployed around the world.” For something as significant as a sea change it received remarkably little fanfare at the time. In fact it seemed to go almost unnoticed. Of course it was nearly impossible for anything other than Rob Ford’s ongoing theatrics or the latest revelations from the Senate/PMO scandal to attract even a modicum of media or political attention.

The Global Markets Action Plan marks a move towards what the government has . . . [more]

Each Wednesday we tell you which three English-language cases and which French-language case have been the most viewed on CanLII and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about. NOTE: Starting in January 2014, the Hot on CanLII cases will be evaluated differently. In order to maximize the relevance of this feature for our readers, we will start measuring the total amount of time spent on the pages rather than total number of hits, as this gauges impact and legal interest better. Because of the large number of repeated cases, a case will not be included . . . [more]

Letters of reference can be very helpful when looking for employment. However, increasingly, due to issues with liability (great letter for an employee who turns out to be terrible), management and consistency, many employers have policies that prohibit formal reference letters for all departing employees – regardless of their performance.

In most of Canada, it doesn’t appear that there is any recognized common law duty to provide a letter of reference. However, the Court of Appeal of Quebec (QCA) has recently ruled that Quebec is also a distinct society when it comes to letters of reference.

In Arseneault (Succession de) . . . [more]

It is the time of year when blogging is celebrated. The Clawbies, the Blawggies and ABA Blawg 100 winners have been announced and the ABA Blawg 100 Hall of Fame was added to. January is also a time when infrequent posters get their game on and make “this year I will post more often” promises.

Great stories have been shared on the benefits of blogging from a variety of people.

There are many benefits that have come my way from blogging. I have met some great friends, gained some street cred by being recognized by clients waiting in our . . . [more]

Utah makes family law, it seems. Perhaps because that state is the home of a large number of devout members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a.k.a. Mormons, and churches of all stripes care about such things as marriage — and sometimes hold beliefs about them that are at odds with those of civil society. Recently, as you may know from the news, a couple of cases from Utah have shaken things up and have raised some fundamental questions — again.

In Brown et al. v. Buhman the plaintiffs, members of a polygamous (polygynous, specifically) clan, . . . [more]

Creating a positive client experience is a team sport. Everyone who is in contact with your clients should be singing from the same song sheet so that your clients have a synchronized experience with you. Anyone off-key will bring the whole choir down, so to speak.

Your assistant, typically, has regular contact with your clients and is in a position to advance your team’s ability to deliver high quality service to your clients, resulting in client loyalty and more meaningful long term relationships.

At the risk of adding on to your assistant’s busy desk, there are a few easy things . . . [more]

When deciding, with your client, to bring an intellectual property lawsuit in Canada, one question that will need to be answered is what court should be used? In many instances, both the Federal Court and the provincial courts have concurrent jurisdiction but depending on the specific causes of action, your choice may be limited to one of the courts and other facts may influence your choice.

Jurisdiction

The provincial ‘superior’ courts have inherent jurisdiction over all causes of action that have not been explicitly provided elsewhere. The Federal Court, in contrast is purely a statutory creation (see the Federal Courts . . . [more]