Law360 Canada ( October 1, 2024, 12:19 PM EDT) -- Claim by plaintiff for copyright infringement arising from photographs taken by the late Vivian Maier ("Maier"). The plaintiff was the estate of Maier who was the owner of copyright in a variety of original works made by Maier, including those embodied in a collection of black and white negatives ("B&W Negatives") and colour slides and transparencies ("Colour Negatives"). The plaintiff remained the copyright owner of the Maier Works until an heir was identified. The plaintiff alleged that Bulger as director and Stephen M. Bulger Photography Gallery Inc ("Defendants") had infringed copyright by commissioning, exhibiting, offering for sale, and/or selling prints made from the B&W Negatives to a Swiss company. The plaintiff also asserted infringement of copyright embodied in the Colour Negatives. The plaintiff sought statutory damages, punitive damages, and alleged personal liability against Bulger and the Gallery. The defendants denied any personal liability. The defendants also denied authorizing secondary infringement acts, asserting fair dealing, copyright misuse, and legitimate sale leading to copyright exhaustion as defences, while the Gallery admitted liability for commissioning prints from 40 unique works in the B&W Negatives. The plaintiff contended that the defendants' arguments that the gallery did not know about the infringement were inconsistent with its actions....