Copyright Infringement Found Of Works Containing Compilation Of Hyperlinks

On July 15, 2026, the Federal Court of Canada (the Court) issued its decision in Rayman v Red Crayon Inc., 2026 FC 951, granting Dr. Reiza Rayman’s (the Plaintiff) motion for default judgement against Red Crayon Inc. (the Defendant) for copyright infringement.

The Defendant is a for-profit after-school supplementary education franchise that provides tutoring and educational services for children. The Plaintiff, a Clinical Associate at the London Health Sciences Centre, entered into a consulting agreement with the Defendant in 2021, and assumed the role of Defendant’s Director of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Under that agreement, the Plaintiff developed five quick reference guides and one STEM camp curriculum guide. The quick reference guides contained compilations of hyperlinks to instructional materials and resources hosted on another website.

The dispute arose in 2023 when the Defendant stopped paying the Plaintiff’s invoices and failed to respond to his emails. Despite the breakdown in the parties’ relationship, the Defendant continued to make the Works available in association with its business. As a result, the Plaintiff sued the Defendant for copyright infringement, moving for default judgment after the Defendant failed to file a statement of defence.

The motion judge initially declined to grant default judgment, identifying two deficiencies in the Plaintiff’s evidence. First, she was not satisfied that the statement of claim had been properly served. Second, she found that the evidence did not sufficiently explain how the Works were being accessed or infringed. The order permitted the Plaintiff to refile the motion with better evidence.

On refiling, the Court found that the Plaintiff addressed the evidentiary gaps and was entitled to default judgement. The new evidence established that the statement of claim was properly served on the corporate Defendant and clarified how the Works were being accessed. The Plaintiff also clarified that he was not claiming copyright in the instructional materials accessible through the embedded hyperlinks, but rather in the compilation (including the selection of the hyperlinks).

The Court therefore found in favour of the Plaintiff, awarding $78,000 in total damages and granting a permanent injunction restraining the Defendant from infringing the Plaintiff’s copyright in the Works.

Summary By: Claire Bettio