For better or worse, the ongoing series of “Robertson v. _____” cases continues. On May 2, a final decision was handed down in the case of “Robertson v. Proquest, Cedrom, Toronto Star Newspapers, Rogers and Canwest.” (This decision comes after a tentative settlement reached this January.) Heather Robertson and Kirk Baert of the firm Koskie Minsky LLP represented a group of freelance writers in the case, alleging that the companies had disseminated their work in online databases without their permission, thereby infringing upon their copyrights. An Ontario court awarded them $7.9 million.
As in the past, details of how individual writers will be rewarded are unclear as of now. In the coming weeks, a notice will be printed in select magazines and newspapers explaining how the affected freelancers can make claims. The same information will also appear on the Koskie Minsky website.
