Mejia v. LaSalle College International
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Copyright Cases
As Part of Wrongful Dismissal Suit, Court Finds Copyright
Infringement in Photograph Taken By Employee, Posted by
Employer
This case concerned an instructor (Mejia) who was terminated by
his employer (LaSalle) for "professional unacceptable
behaviour". LaSalle claimed that it had cause to terminate
Mejia's employment for his conduct during a workshop he was
teaching, when he allegedly enticed students to file a complaint
with the Private Career Institutions Agency. Mejia sued for
wrongful dismissal, defamation and copyright infringement.
Mejia's claim was unsuccessful in respect of his claims for
wrongful dismissal and defamation. With respect to the allegation
of copyright infringement, Mejia claimed that one of his
photographs was being used on LaSalle's Facebook page in two
different sections. Mejia claimed that it was taken during his
personal time, with his camera, and belonged to him. LaSalle argued
that the photograph was of a LaSalle student, wearing another
student's project, standing in front of a backdrop made by a
LaSalle instructor, and located in a LaSalle classroom, which
together suggest that the photograph was taken in the course of
Mejia's employment. Absent an agreement to the contrary,
LaSalle argued that it held the copyright in the photograph.
The Court found that Mejia was hired as an instructor and not as a
photographer. As such, the taking of photographs was not an
activity that was generally considered to be within the duties of
Mejia's employment, and there was no contractual agreement that
he do so. Though the Court found that the photograph was connected
with the employer LaSalle by virtue of its subject and the location
in which it was taken, it was not held as being connected with
Mejia's employment. Therefore, since the photograph was not
made in the course of Mejia's employment with LaSalle, the
Court held that pursuant to section 13(1) of the Copyright
Act (the "Act"), Mejia is the first owner
of the copyright. As a result, the Court found that LaSalle
infringed Mejia's copyright and assessed damages at $500, the
minimum amount under the Act, since Mejia did not
establish or even argue that he had suffered any loss as a result
of the infringement. The Court did note, however, that it was
"mindful of the need to deter infringers".Industry News
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ARTICLE
28 August 2014
As Part Of Wrongful Dismissal Suit, Court Finds Copyright Infringement In Photograph Taken By Employee, Posted By Employer (Intellectual Property Weekly Abstracts Bulletin – Week Of August 25th, 2014)
This case concerned an instructor (Mejia) who was terminated by his employer (LaSalle) for "professional unacceptable behaviour".