Ontario Court Rules for RIM over Atari in Videogame Copyright Dispute

An Ontario court recently issued an interesting decision in an ongoing copyright battle between Canadian company Research in Motion Limited (RIM) and two US companies, Atari Inc and its affiliate Atari Interactive Inc (collectively, Atari). The case involves claims by Atari that the BrickBreaker and Meteor Crusher games available on RIM's Blackberry devices infringe copyright in Atari's Breakout and Asteroids games. In a pre-emptive move, RIM launched an action in the Ontario Superior Court (Ontario Court), rather than the Federal Court, seeking a declaration that it is not infringing Atari's copyright. RIM also sought a declaration that the audio visual displays of the Breakout and Asteroids games "do not constitute works protected by copyright under Canadian law and that Atari has no right to title or interest to the games under either the laws of Canada or the United States." Atari responded by bringing a motion to dismiss RIM's action based on the absence of explicit declaratory remedies of non-infringement in the Copyright Act, on the assertion that the claim was unconstitutional (as copyright is a federal matter), and that Ontario is not the appropriate forum to address relief relating to US copyright law. Ruling against Atari, Justice H Spiegel allowed RIM's action to proceed in the Ontario Court, finding that the Court was not "prohibited from granting the relief sought on a constitutional basis". If RIM is ultimately successful, the case could have a profound effect on the way copyright owners and users protect their interests. For the full text of the decision, visit: http://tinyurl.com/2gg9ay Summary by: Abigail Browne