Decision

1395804 Ontario Ltd. dba Blacklock's Reporter v. Canada (Attorney General), 2016 FC 1255

Justice Barnes - 2016-11-10

Read full decision. Automatically generated summary:

This is a case about copyright. More specifically, it is a case about the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright Act in the context of third party use of content protected by a paywall. The Plaintiff, carrying on business as Blacklock’s Reporter, contends that officials in the Department of Finance violated its copyright by obtaining, reading and distributing two of its news articles without authorization. The Attorney General argues that Blacklock’s conduct is a misuse of copyright and that the conduct Blacklock’s complains about constitutes fair dealing under section 29 of the Act. ... I am satisfied that the Department’s acknowledged use of the two Blacklock’s articles constituted fair dealing. There is no question that the circulation of this news copy within the Department was done for a proper research purpose. There is also no question that the admitted scope of use was, in the circumstances, fair.

Decision relates to:

  • T-1391-14 - 139504 Ontario Ltd., operating as Blacklock's Reporter v. ATG

 

Canadian Intellectual Property