Canadian Supreme Court Rules Against Publishers’ Copyright Group

From the Supreme Court of Canada, a recent and notable copyright decision of interest to those tracking the course of the Database and Collections of Information Misappropriation Act (DCIMA):

  • The Law Society of Upper Canada v. CCH Canadian Limited – and between – The Law Society of Upper Canada v. Thomson Canada Limited c.o.b. as Carswell Thomson Professional Publishing – and between – The Law Society of Upper Canada v. Canada Law Book Inc. and Canadian Publishers’ Council and Association of Canadian Publishers, Federation of Law Societies of Canada, Société québécoise de gestion collective des droits de reproduction (COPIBEC) and The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (ACCESS COPYRIGHT) (F.C.)2004 SCC 13 / 2004 CSC 13, March 4, 2004 [Link to decision]
  • From the text of the decision – “The Law Society does not infringe copyright when a single copy of a reported decision, case summary, statute, regulation or limited selection of text from a treatise is made by the Great Library in accordance with its access policy. Moreover, the Law Society does not authorize copyright infringement by maintaining a photocopier in the Great Library and posting a notice warning that it will not be responsible for any copies made in infringement of copyright.”
  • See also these two articles on the case – one from the Globe and Mail and one from LexisNexis InfoPro News [thanks to T.R. Halvorson for this link].
  • Press release, Law Society Welcomes Supreme Court of Canada Landmark Copyright Decision.” [Link via Louis Mirando]
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    Posted in: Copyright, Courts, Libraries
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