The largest copyright-infringement case in Canadian history is taking place currently. The defendants are members of the Canadian Recording Industry Association and have themselves complained for years how Canadian consumers disrespect copyrights. The defendants include Warner Music Canada, Sony BMG Music Canada, EMI Music Canada, and Universal Music Canada. The defendants have already effectively admitted owing at least $50 million, but the plaintiffs are seeking an amount that could exceed $6 billion.
The lead plaintiff in this case is the renowned jazz musician Chet Baker, who died in 1988. The claims arise from a Canadian recording industry practice described in the lawsuit as “exploit now, pay later if at all.” In this practice, the labels create, press, distribute and sell CDs of compilations or live recordings. However, the labels do not obtain permission. The names are instead placed on a pending list, which in Canadian practice signifies that approval and payment are pending. This practice is unique to Canada and arose when the copyright law was changed from a compulsory license to the need to obtain specific authorization. Essentially, the pending list is a copyright infringement admission list. The pending list has grown over the years and now contains over 300,000 songs. The president and CEO of the Canadian Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd. has stated that the labels have provided insufficient resources to identify and pay the owners of musical works on the pending list. This lawsuit seeks statutory damages for $20,000 per song, the same amount the labels claimed the single file sharer is liable to pay.
The irony of the situation is emphasized by the plaintiffs wherein they are seeking punitive damages, arguing “the conduct of the defendant record companies is aggravated by their strict and unremitting approach to their enforcement of their copyright interests against consumers.”