Email address: Claimsadministrator@coleandpartners.com
Fax: 416-364-2904
Phone 416-361-2590
Class members are advised that the claims filing deadline has been extended by Order of the Court, dated January 29th, 2010. Class members now have until Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 to file a claim with the Claims Administrator, Cole & Partners.
Robertson v. Thomson, et al
William Dovey, of Cole & Partners, was appointed by the court to serve as claims administrator in this class action lawsuit regarding e-rights for writers and artists. The information on this page is provided as a reference to freelance writers and artists who may be eligible for settlement funds. Additional information concerning this case can be found on the website of Koskie Minsky LLP (the Toronto firm which served as class counsel) at www.kmlaw.ca/robertsonvthomson.
This class action lawsuit concerns media outlets that reproduced the work of freelance writers and artists on electronic databases without consent or additional compensation. The suit alleges that this practise amounted to copyright infringement and that freelance contributors deserve payment for the electronic reproduction of their work. The lawsuit was launched in 1996 by freelance writer Heather Robertson.
The Defendants in the case include The Thomson Corporation (now, the Thomson Reuters Corporation), Thomson Canada Limited (now, Thomson Reuters Canada Limited), Thomson Affiliates and Information Access Company (now, The Gale Group, Inc.) and Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. (now, CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc.). Over 350 Canadian publications were cited in the case, including The Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, Chatelaine, Canadian Geographic, Toronto Life and now defunct Saturday Night magazine.
A settlement of the case was approved by the Superior Court of Ontario on August 12, 2009. Under the terms of the settlement, the Defendants have agreed to pay $11 million, minus legal fees, claims administration costs, notice publication costs, charitable contributions and a 10% levy payable to the Law Foundation of Ontario. After these deductions, the settlement fund will amount to roughly $5.5 million. The settlement stipulates that a writer can recover up to a maximum of 1% of this amount, which is estimated at $55,000.
Freelance writers and artists who contributed to any of the specified media outlets in the case may be eligible to claim settlement money. Staff writers are not eligible to participate in the settlement. A list of the publications covered by the settlement is available on this website and on that of Koskie Minsky. Further details of the settlement are also available on these websites.
Freelance writers and artists who wish to make a claim should consult the publications list, take note of eligible media outlets they have contributed to, then fill out a claims form and return it to Cole & Partners. Freelancers can also consult a subject database, available in many libraries, to compile a list of writing credits that may qualify for settlement funds. Freelancers do not need to provide copies of published articles as part of their claim. Claim forms have to be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on March 30, 2010.
Once claim forms have been collected, Cole & Partners will determine payment based on a point system which will take into account compensation, length of articles, and prominence of the media outlet they appeared in.
Freelancers without access to email or the Internet can contact Koskie Minsky or Cole & Partners and request a copy of the publication list and claims form, to be sent via fax or surface mail. Freelance writers with additional questions about the settlement are also urged to contact these firms.
Eligible freelancers may complete and submit a claim form, along with supporting documents, to Cole & Partners via fax, email or surface mail. Cole & Partners can be reached at:
80 Richmond Street West, Suite 2000, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2A4
Fax: 416-364-2904 Phone 416-361-2590
Email address: Claimsadministrator@coleandpartners.com
English and French versions of the claim form are available in the links below.