Copyright Infringing Record Labels Settle For $50M
The long running case concerning 30 years of commercial piracy by Canadian record companies is now officially at an end.
For infringing copyright on a massive scale for decades, the judgment approved yesterday by the Ontario Superior Court means they have to pay just $50M to the artists in question.
Back in January, we covered the initial agreement for the major labels to pay $45M to settle the claims, but the labels were adamant that they were not infringing.
Now the judgment has been approved by court in the amount of $50 Million. Of course, that’s before lawyers fees are taken out, which will mean the infringed artists will see significantly less.
With an estimated 300,000 tracks infringed for profit, it works out to about $166 per song. Cold comfort to the likes of Thomas and Tenenbaum who were hit with tens of thousands for non-commercially infringing a handful of songs (although that was in the US).
It is however a more sane judgment, and one that could have future implications for copyright-based lawsuits, especially as the statutory minimum damages of $500 per track were cut by a third.
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