Quebec Superior Court Rules On The Concept Of Fair Dealing In Relation To The Substantial Reproduction Of Journalistic Works

On July 24, 2017, the Superior Court granted an interlocutory injunction against two media-monitoring websites, ordering them to cease the use and reproduction of the copyright-protected works of employees of three major Quebec newspaper publishers: La Presse, Le Devoir, and Le Soleil.

This decision has numerous implications for the recognition and scope of copyright in Quebec.

Fasken Martineau ( Julie Desrosiers and Chris Semerjian) represented CEDROM-SNi, La Presse, Le Devoir, and Le Soleil, the applicants in this important case.

Background

LaDose.pro and LaDose.ca are media-monitoring websites. The former, LaDose.pro, offers a paid service. Subscribers receive emails informing them of the latest news, three times a day, five days a week, and once on Sundays. The emails generally include, for each of the press articles listed, the newspaper from which the individual articles originate, the title, and the "lead" of the article, which generally corresponds to the first paragraph. The emails also provide a link to the full text on the newspaper's website.

LaDose.ca is a free service, but it displays third-party advertising. This website provides daily coverage of important news and headlines of the day from various media. Users are provided with the title of the individual articles and a link to the website of the newspaper from which each article originates. LaDose.ca is a free service, but it displays third-party advertising. This website provides daily coverage of important news and headlines of the day from various media. Users are provided with the title of the individual articles and a link to the website of the newspaper from which each article originates. LaDose.ca also displays a link to the paid services of LaDose.ca is a free service, but it displays third-party advertising. This website provides daily coverage of important news and headlines of the day from various media. Users are provided with the title of the individual articles and a link to the website of the newspaper from which each article originates. LaDose.ca also displays a link to the paid services of LaDose.pro.

Because they began operating over 18 months before the injunction was granted, LaDose.pro and Because they began operating over 18 months before the injunction was granted, LaDose.pro and LaDose.ca never had any agreement with the applicants that would allow them to use excerpts of articles from La Presse, Le Devoir, and Le Soleil. In fact, CEDROM-SNi, the fourth applicant in this case, is responsible for granting licences for the electronic use of any journalistic content published by the three newspapers for media-monitoring purposes. CEDROM-SNi even...