Post Tagged with: "pending list"

Massive Copyright Class Action Settlement Approved: Record Labels to Pay $50 Million

The largest copyright class action in Canadian history received court approval yesterday, with the four major record labels that comprise the Canadian Recording Industry Association – EMI Music Canada Inc., Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc., Universal Music Canada Inc. and Warner Music Canada Co. – agreeing to pay over $50 […]

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May 31, 2011 22 comments News

Canadian Recording Industry To Pay $45 Million To Settle Class Action Over Copyright Infringement

The four major record labels that comprise the Canadian Recording Industry Association – EMI Music Canada Inc., Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc., Universal Music Canada Inc. and Warner Music Canada Co. – have agreed to pay $45 million to settle one of the largest copyright class action lawsuits in Canadian […]

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January 10, 2011 32 comments News

Lawyers Weekly on Baker Copyright Class Action

The Lawyers Weekly has coverage of the Chet Baker copyright class action against the recording industry that could involve as much as $6 billion in liability.

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January 18, 2010 3 comments News

Linking Ottawa Record Seller Case With CRIA $6 Billion Class Action

As a follow-up to the Ottawa record store that pleaded guilty to copyright infringement over 100 CDs, the store owner's lawyer makes the connection between CRIA bringing a case against thes store owner while facing a $6 billion class action lawsuit for failing to pay artists.

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December 17, 2009 11 comments News

Canadian Recording Industry Faces $6 Billion Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

Chet Baker was a leading jazz musician in the 1950s, playing trumpet and providing vocals. Baker died in 1988, yet he is about to add a new claim to fame as the lead plaintiff in possibly the largest copyright infringement case in Canadian history.  His estate, which still owns the copyright in more than 50 of his works, is part of a massive class-action lawsuit that has been underway for the past year.

As my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes, the infringer has effectively already admitted owing at least $50 million and the full claim could exceed $6 billion. If the dollars don’t shock, the target of the lawsuit undoubtedly will: The defendants in the case are Warner Music Canada, Sony BMG Music Canada, EMI Music Canada, and Universal Music Canada, the four primary members of the Canadian Recording Industry Association.

The CRIA members were hit with the lawsuit [PDF] in October 2008, after artists decided to turn to the courts following decades of frustration with the rampant infringement (I am adviser to the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic, which is co-counsel, but have had no involvement in the case). The claims arise from a longstanding practice of the recording industry in Canada, described in the lawsuit as "exploit now, pay later if at all."  It involves the use of works that are often included in compilation CDs (ie. the top dance tracks of 2009) or live recordings. The record labels create, press, distribute, and sell the CDs, but do not obtain the necessary copyright licences.

Instead, the names of the songs on the CDs are placed on a "pending list", which signifies that approval and payment is pending.  The pending list dates back to the late 1980s, when Canada changed its copyright law by replacing a compulsory licence with the need for specific authorization for each use. It is perhaps better characterized as a copyright infringement admission list, however, since for each use of the work, the record label openly admits that it has not obtained copyright permission and not paid any royalty or fee.

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December 7, 2009 104 comments Columns