Articles 2019

Canadian entertainment lawyers are generally under-fed when it comes to court decisions. So, in April 2020, when the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released its decision in Wiseau Studio, LLC et al. v. Harper et al., 2020 ONSC 2504 – the first detailed consideration of how to apply copyright’s fair dealing mechanism to documentary films – it offered a satisfying meal indeed. Even better, it involves “the greatest bad movie ever made” – The Room.

With production across North America grinding to a halt, what are the key legal issues emerging from the coronavirus pandemic?

In 2018, the esports industry had a global fan base of 380 million people. In Canada specifically, 4.4 million Canadians followed esports last year, and more than 23 million Canadians classified themselves as “gamers” (that’s over 60 per cent of the population!). The industry is massive and not slowing down any time soon. Our clients are itching to get involved in esports, but simply didn’t know how, so we decided to change that.

Since copyright laws generally grant the owners of artistic works the sole right to control the use and reproduction of their works in all media (subject to some limited exceptions), any unauthorized use or reproduction of a celebrity’s tattoo in an e-sports game (e.g., NBA 2K20), movie (e.g., The Hangover), or other media may result in a copyright infringement claim — not to mention a trademark, publicity or personality rights claim, depending on the circumstances.

In the first order of its kind in Canada, the Federal Court has issued an injunction directing named internet service providers (ISPs) to prevent users from accessing certain websites operated by anonymous defendants that are alleged to infringe Canadian copyrights over a wide range of audiovisual works and broadcasts.

Sports and entertainment lawyer Layth Gafoor discusses the proliferation of content-streaming services giving Netflix a potential run for its money, plus how this new digital landscape is radically changing the dealmaking process with execs and lawyers scrambling to adapt.

In case you missed it, the Ontario Bar Association’s Entertainment, Media and Communications Law Section recently hosted a mentoring event called “Help Me Help You” for new and aspiring lawyers. Pooja Sihra offers three key takeaways.

Review of CPD session “Errors and Omissions Insurance for Film and Media Productions” featuring speaker Brian Wynn (partner, Gardiner Roberts LLP) and co-hosted by Katarina Germani (legal counsel, CBC/Radio-Canada) and Ryan Keller (associate, Stohn Hay Cafazzo Dembroski Richmond LLP).

A third-year law student shares some helpful advice on how to break into the entertainment law industry.

The Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark decision in Google Inc v Equustek Solutions Inc upheld an interlocutory injunction against Google, a non-party, to globally de-index the websites of the defendant that is infringing the plaintiff's intellectual property. Although Google obtained a judgment from a US court declaring that the decision was not enforceable in the US, it was unsuccessful in having the original injunction overturned in Canada on the basis of the US judgment.