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Page 4 November 4, 2013 Law Times • NEWS Thomson Reuters settles copyright class action BY GLENN KAUTH Law Times T homson Reuters Canada Ltd. will pay $350,000 for use in a cy-près fund as part of a settlement of a class action over copyright issues related to its Litigator legal research service. Lawyer Lorne Waldman was the representative plaintiff in a case that alleged copyright infringement in the service's use of documents such as pleadings, affidavits, facta, and notices of motion. As part of the settlement, which requires court approval, Thomson Reuters denied the claims and asserted several defences, including fair dealing and the open-court principle. The cy-près money will create a fund for legal scholarship as part of a joint venture between law schools, students, and lawyers. The goals include providing When it comes to IP in Canada, We're Well Read abide by the Copyright Act. John Shaughnessy, Thomson Reuters' vice president of communications, said the settlement is good for both sides. "We think this is a settlement that's good for Thomson Reuters and good for the class members, and are pleased to reach a solution that can help make this valuable content accessible to Canadian legal professionals in the future. We look forward to working with plaintiffs and the court to bring this matter to a constructive close." Plaintiffs' counsel Jordan Goldblatt was also positive. "The cyprès fund will, in our view, directly benefit the class members — legal practitioners — as well as future lawyers and the public," Goldblatt tells Law Times, a Thomson Reuters businss. LT House arrest for shareholder rights activist in landmark libel case Ridout & Maybee LLP: Editors of the Canadian Patent Reporter it all starts somewhere www.ridoutmaybee.com Untitled-1 1 a vehicle for funding public interest litigation. Lawyers will be able to seek funding, provided, among other things, that they involve a qualified law student in the case. In addition, the settlement includes a provision granting Thomson Reuters a licence from the class members to make their publicly filed court documents available in Litigator and other electronic media. For those who aren't class members, the company will send a notice to lawyers named as counsel on a case of its intention to make the documents available on Litigator. If counsel objects in the prescribed manner, it will refrain from making the documents available on Litigator. In addition, the company will include a provision on Westlaw Canada and its web sites noting that users must 12-01-23 9:05 AM Legal research for the way you think – and work. WestlawCanada.com AUTHORITATIVE. INNOVATIVE. TRUSTED. www.lawtimesnews.com A Verdun in 2011. It n Ontario was one of the largest S u p e aggravated damages rior Court awards in Canadian judge has history. At the time, sentenced shareholdthe judge also issued er rights activist Roban injunction barert Verdun to house ring Verdun from arrest after finding "disseminating, posthim in contempt of Brian Radnoff. ing on the Internet court for flouting an or publishing, in any injunction barring him from making comments manner whatsoever, directly or about businessman Robert Astley. indirectly, any statements or comThe 90-day conditional sen- ments about" Astley. After the 2011 court order, tence last month relates to a defamation case before a civil jury that Verdun contacted MP Stephen resulted in a landmark $400,000 Woodworth to raise concerns aggravated damages award against about Astley, according to Superior Court Justice Robert Goldstein's May 7 contempt decision. "Mr. Verdun admits that he contacted Mr. Woodworth. He says it is an act of conscience," wrote Goldstein. "Mr. Verdun is wrong," the judge continued. Following Astley's appointment to the board of directors at the Bank of Montreal in 2004, Verdun began criticizing him as a "stain on this board." Verdun was a policyholder of Mutual Life of Canada when Astley, then president and chief executive officer of the company, undertook a process of demutualization, Goldstein noted in his contempt ruling earlier this year. Verdun opposed the demutualization. In December 2004, Verdun wrote to David Galloway, the Bank of Montreal's chairman, to oppose Astley's appointment to its board. The e-mail was one of eight statements the jury found to be defamatory. In it, Verdun described Astley as "unethical, greedy, and narrowly-focused." Astley's lawyer, Brian Radnoff, says his client welcomes the sentence. "My client, Mr. Astley, was pleased the court enforced the injunction and imposed a stiff sentence for the contempt. This entire matter has caused Mr. Astley and his family considerable pain." LT — GK

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