ILN Today

Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v. llC Enterprises Ltd. Cob as Cheetah’s Nightclub [2011 FC 471399 (Fed Court)]

On Dec 1, 2011, the Federal Court (FC) gave a decision on appeal from the Prothonotary’s decision in which the Prothonotary refused to grant pre-judgment interest to the successful Plaintiff from the date on which the Plaintiff’s cause of action arose, in accordance with the BC Act regarding interest. The Plaintiff elected statutory damages under the Copyright Act. The Plaintiff was granted pre-judgment interest from the date of issuance of the Statement of Claim in the FC to the date of the judgment. The FC agreed with the Prothonotary. With respect to collectives, such as this Plaintiff, which elect statutory damages under the Copyright Act for copyright infringement, this election is “in lieu of any other remedy of a monetary nature provided by the Copyright Act”. Where the Plaintiff chooses not to pursue a claim for unpaid provincial license fees, its right to pre-judgment interest from the date on which the Plaintiff’s cause of action arose is affected.

Colleen Spring Zimmerman is a member of Fogler, Rubinoff’s Intellectual Property Group, which provides a full range of intellectual property legal services, including protecting, licensing and enforcing intellectual property.