The "Inside Out" Lawsuit Is Mixed With Sadness And Joy For The Parties

• Published date: 23 July 2021
• Subject Matter: Intellectual Property, Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment, Copyright, Media & Entertainment Law, Broadcasting: Film, TV & Radio
• Law Firm: Bereskin & Parr LLP
• Author: Mr François Larose, Naomi Zener and Martin Brandsma

As reported in the recent Ontario decision of Pourshian v. Walt Disney Company, 2021 ONSC 4840, Damon Pourshian, the Toronto-based Sheridan student who commenced a copyright infringement lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company, Pixar, and several other Defendants, partially succeeded in his appeal to have the case continue against various US-based Defendants. The foreign Defendants had previously brought a motion to set aside service of Pourshian's claim, arguing that the Ontario court lacked jurisdiction over the US companies. In a prior decision from October 15, 2019, a Master found that the Ontario court had jurisdiction over the claims against three of the Defendants, but not against the other five. On appeal, both Pourshian and the Defendants (on cross-appeal) argued that the Master misapplied the legal framework for determining whether a court has jurisdiction over a claim commenced against foreign defendants. The appeal was allowed in part, with the Appellate Court finding that the Master made various legal errors, and ultimately concluded the Ontario court had jurisdiction over six of the eight US defendants. The decision is notable for foreign content creators doing business in Canada, as held by the Appeal Court: "[a]ny activities the defendants engaged in outside Ontario that resulted in the communication [of the film] in Ontario are not protected simply because they took place outside Ontario".

As we previously reported, Pourshian authored both a script and made a short film titled "Inside Out" (first conceived in high school) when he was a student at Sheridan College's Faculty of Film and Television in 2002 in its Media Arts Program, renowned for its animation program and a fertile ground for big animation studios to recruit students. In June 2015, Pixar released its film titled "INSIDE OUT" about an 11-year old girl named Riley struggling emotionally with a cross-country move with her family, leaving her home and friends behind, while experiencing the roller coaster of change that comes with being pre-pubescent. In July 2018, Pourshian commenced an action in Ontario against Pixar and other related Disney entities, seeking damages and a permanent injunction for alleged copyright infringement of Pourshian's Inside Out by virtue of the Defendants' production, reproduction, and distribution of their "INSIDE OUT" film.

Shortly after the action was commenced, the Defendants moved before a Master to set aside service of the claim, arguing that the...