Crown Immunity Argument Rejected by Copyright Board in Access Copyright's Proposed $24 per Provincial Government Employee Tariff

As Ariel Katz was quick to note, the Copyright Board has issued its decision on the crown immunity issue that arose in Access Copyright's proposed tariff that would impose a tariff of $24 per FTE provincial government employee. Ariel's blog includes an interesting comment from Andrew Martin, presumably the same Andrew Martin who was the CEO of  Access Copyright (then CanCopy) for many years.

The crown immunity issue was argued as a preliminary issue last fall. The decision released on January 5, 2012 provides only the following indication of what reasoning the Board may have in mind: 

The Objectors’ claim for crown immunity is dismissed by reason that the Act binds the Crown by necessary implication

Reasons are to follow. We await those  reasons with interest, as well as learning whether there will be an attempt at judicial review.

The submissions of the parties are available here, here, here,  and here.

HK