Ontario Superior Court of Justice Dissolves Injunction Restraining Release of Documentary Film

On August 11, 2017, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued its decision in Wiseau Studio et al v Richard Harper (2017 ONSC 6535) dissolving an interim injunction against the defendant for lacking disclosure and failing to persuade the Court that the injunction should be granted based on the traditional injunction test.

The plaintiff, the creator of the movie The Room, sought and obtained an interim injunction against the defendant, preventing him from releasing his documentary film, A Room Full of Spoons. The Room was the subject of the documentary film.

In obtaining his injunction, the plaintiff made three broad complaints about the defendant and his documentary:

1. the documentary mocks, derides and disparages The Room;

2. the documentary “casts aspersions on” the plaintiff’s character and invades his privacy; and

3. the defendant was in material breach of the plaintiff’s copyright in The Room.

The interim injunction was obtained ex parte which required the plaintiff to make “full and fair” disclosure.

The Court found that all three of the plaintiff’s complaints entailed material non-disclosure, which the plaintiff failed to make. The Court also found that the plaintiff failed to establish irreparable harm and balance of convenience for obtaining an injunction.

Summary By: Jae Morris