Canadian Lawyer

Regional wrap-up The restored Bluenose II, launched in Lunenburg, N.S., last September, is facing some choppy copyright waters. T he replica of the Bluenose II launched last year by the Nova Scotia government is currently navigating turbulent legal waters. Descendants of the original Bluenose designer, William Rou��, are suing for copyright infringement. The designer���s great-granddaughter and -grandson contend the reconstructed vessel, which cost roughly $17 million, was built without their permission. According to court documents, copyright was assigned to the Bluenose II Preservation Trust Society in 1995 but a decade later was returned to the family. Moral rights, of course, were never assigned and continue for another seven years. The seafaring family is leaving it up to the court to determine what a copyright infringement in this case is worth. The first replica, built in 1963 for a wealthy Nova Scotia family, was subsequently sold to the province for $1 in 1971. William Rou�� died in 1970. Documents filed with the court state that replicating the Bluenose II is highly prejudicial to the original designer���s honour and his reputation. The applicants, in turn, are seeking compensation for lost financial opportunities among other damages. The family points to the province���s lack of recognition regarding Rou�����s expertise as a major reason for its lawsuit. ���We certainly need acknowledgement that the 8 March 2013 www.CANADIAN new hull was based on his design. We hope that it was, I mean that���s certainly I think the hope of all Canadians ��� that L a w ye r m a g . c o m it would be based on an authentic reproduction of what Bluenose should be,��� Joan Rou��, great-granddaughter of the designer, told reporters. Reports indicate the family has been trying unsuccessfully to reach an agreement with the government out of the legal spotlight for more than three years. ���We���ve exhausted every avenue,��� said Rou��. ���We went the extra mile and really, really hoped that we���d be able to resolve this privately, but that���s not the case.��� The original Bluenose was launched in Lunenburg, N.S., in 1921 and sank off the coast of Haiti more than two decades later. In the interim, she had a virtually undefeated racing career. Her legacy���s record is not as unblemished. ��� DM Paul Darrow/ REUTERS Rough sailing ahead for Bluenose II Central CHIEF JUSTICE SOUNDS THE ALARM ON ���FREEMEN��� Q uebec police are investigating the modus operandi of the radical Freeman-on-the-Land movement following an alert from Quebec Superior Court Chief Justice Fran��ois Rolland about their misuse of the provincial justice system. Rolland says activity by the anti-government group, branded as a terrorist organization by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and ���domestic extremists��� by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, became evident in Quebec last year even though supporters, estimated to number 30,000 in Canada, have been more active elsewhere in the country in the past few years. Chief Justice Fran��ois Rolland and at least nine other Quebec judges Rolland alerted police to were targeted for action and the chief justice tells radicals targeting judges. Canadian Lawyer in January there were at least 15 open files in the Quebec court system involving people claiming they are not subject to any government laws, policies, or regulations ��� a tenet of ���freemen��� or ���sovereign citizens,��� as U.S. adherents who inspired the Canadian movement are known. ���I received a notice of default that if I didn���t cancel a judgment that had been rendered by one of my colleagues a lien would Continued on page 9

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