Cinar Corporation V Robinson, 2013 SCC 73

On December 23, 2013, a unanimous Supreme Court of Canada issued its decision in the copyright infringement action involving the children's cartoon television show "The Adventures of Robinson Curiosity" ("Curiosity") and the impugned copy "Robinson Sucroë" ("Sucroë"). The appeal required the Court to assess a key area of copyright law: whether a substantial part of a work had been reproduced.  This was a significant issue since there had been no literal copying and it is a well establsihed principle of copyright law that there is no copyright protection for ideas.  Rather, it is the original expression in a work that is protected.  The decision also addressed the role of expert evidence in infringement actions, the vicarious liability of officers and directors, and the assessment of damages.