Motion to examine foreign author as assignor dismissed; Canadian Copyright Act governs initial copyright ownership.
The Third Party, Rio Tinto Alcan Inc., brought a motion to examine Cyril Chatron, a French engineer employed by the Plaintiff's French affiliate, for discovery in a copyright infringement action.
Rio Tinto argued that Mr. Chatron was an "assignor" under Rule 237(4) of the Federal Courts Rules because he assigned his copyright to his employer under French law.
The Court held that section 13(3) of the Copyright Act governs initial ownership of Canadian copyright in works created in the course of employment, regardless of the work's country of origin.
Consequently, the employer was the first owner of the Canadian copyright, and Mr. Chatron was not an assignor.
The Court also denied leave to examine Mr. Chatron as a non-party under Rule 238, as Rio Tinto had not exhausted reasonable alternative means to obtain the information through discoveries.
The motion was dismissed.
