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Kemp at centre for Hockey Night fightPosted November 13, 2004Maybe it's a good thing the NHL is not playing Saturday nights on the CBC right now because Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) is headed to court and an Alliston lawyer is at the centre of it all. In a Statement of Claim filed Wednesday morning with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Newmarket, Kevin Kemp, acting on behalf of Dolores Claman, a Canadian citizen living in the United Kingdom, alleges the Crown Corporation is in "breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and intentional interference with economic relations" as it relates to the use of the Hockey Night in Canada theme song. Ms. Claman is the composer of the musical composition that has opened nearly every Hockey Night in Canada telecast on the public broadcaster since its creation in 1968. The plaintiff is seeking $2.5 million plus costs. "Dolores was engaged by MacLaren advertising agency to create the composition as a commercial jingle to air at the beginning of the hockey broadcasts of the CBC for a term of one year," according to the claim, whose allegations have not been proven in a court of law. "Dolores retained all copyright interest, including moral rights, in and to the Composition." In 1987, Ms. Claman transferred those rights to an incorporated BC company called Vine Maple Music. In 1993, Ontario based Absolute Productions Inc was provided exclusive rights to administer the composition globally. "From or about 1970 to 1995 the CBC and/or Molstar Communications ( a division of Molson Breweries), used the composition as the musical introduction and theme to the national Hockey Night in Canada television broadcasts without the payment of any synchronization license fee and in breach of copyright of Dolores and/or Vine Music." Molstar had a license "to exploit the composition for a fixed term" that could be used for both the English and French-language CBC broadcasts of Hockey Night in Canada. In 1998, Molson relinquished the right to produce Molson Hockey Night in Canada, and that same year in October Vine Maple Music and Absolute Productions granted CBC a four year "limited right, license and privilege" to use the theme song for broadcast of the CBC's English and French-language telecasts. The statement alleges the CBC did not have permission to use the theme song outside of the country or for any uses other than the live broadcast of its NHL games. "On or about February 19, 2002, (Absolute Productions) communicated with CBC with respect to reports that the HNIC game of February 2, 2002 was broadcast in the United Kingdom in its entirety and that Composition was being included in rebroadcasts of historical games on other networks," according to the claim. "On August 23, 2002 the CBC acknowledged: 'The NHL has confirmed that they provide England with two or three games per year. Some games are also provided on a sporadic basis to Japan and Scandinavia." On September 15, 2002, the CBC license agreement expired, but the public broadcaster continued to use the theme song, according to the suit. A "Synchronization License" was signed with CBC back dated to Sept. 15, 2002, that permitted HNIC to use the theme song for English and French broadcasts in Canada, and at Canadian Forces Bases outside the country, and at Canadian embassies and consulates worldwide. On November 1, 2002, Absolute Productions entered into an agreement with a mobile telephone service to permit the HNIC theme song to be used as a ring tone to signal incoming calls. According to the claim, CBC was asked to approve the deal as a "courtesy." But it refused "unless the telephone provider purchased several hundred thousands of dollars of advertising time on CBC." "The plaintiffs state that by virtue of the conduct (...) the CBC has breached the terms of the License Agreement and Synchronization Agreement and have been unjustly enriched as a result," according to the claim. "In consequence, the plaintiffs have suffered damages and seek an injunction preventing any further exploitation of the Composition. The conduct of CBC is high-handed, reprehensible and oppressive and is such to warrant the condemnation of this Honourable Court and entitle the plaintiffs to an award of punitive, exemplary and aggravated damages." Please use "Letter to the Editor" in subject line. |
 
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