Author: Shawn Foster

About Shawn Foster

Shawn Foster joined the Fasken team as a student in 2021, while completing his third year of law school at Université Laval.

“Making Available”– The Supreme Court Rules That There Is Only One Royalty Fee To Be Paid

picture of the the entrance of the Supreme Court of Canada, or Cour Supreme du Canada, in Ottawa. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada, the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. Its decisions are the ultimate expression and application of Canadian law and binding upon all lower courts of Canada

Fasken successfully represented several of the respondents before the Supreme Court of Canada in Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v. Entertainment Software Association, 2022 SCC 30. In its recent decision, the Supreme Court conclusively rejected attempts by SOCAN to “double dip” on copyright royalties via the making available of copyrighted works and in the process helped clarify a number of important legal issues. Some of these issues are unique to copyright law, while others have broader relevance, including issues related to determining the standard of review post-Vavilov and how treaties should be used to interpret statutes.

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