Statutory damages can be substantial, particularly where many works are infringed.

In Canada, the remedies for copyright infringement include damages (based on the profits lost by the copyright owner because of the infringement) and an accounting of profits (based on the profits gained by the infringer because of the infringement). Alternatively, the copyright owner may elect statutory damages, which are fixed by the Copyright Act between $500 and $20,000 per infringed work if the infringements are for commercial purposes. Two recent related decisions of the Federal Court demonstrate that statutory damages can quickly add up.

Demirören TV Radyo Yayincilik Yapimcilik A.Ş. v. General Entertainment and Music Inc., 2024 FC 1127 (the “GEM Action”) and Yelda Haber Ve Görsel Yayincilik A.S. v. GLWiZ Inc., 2025 FC 1107 (the “GLWiZ” action) both concerned the same award-winning Turkish-language television programs produced and broadcast in Turkey by the plaintiffs (referred to as “Kanal D” for simplicity).

In the GEM Action, Kanal D granted licenses to the defendant’s (“GEM”) corporate predecessor to translate and broadcast the programs in Farsi. GEM continued to broadcast the programs over an IPTV service after the licenses expired and after the corporate predecessor ceased operations. The Court determined that copyright in 2,729 episodes of the programs had been infringed and awarded statutory damages of $10,000 per episode, for a total award of $27,290,000.

In the GLWiZ action, the defendants (referred to collectively as “GLWiZ”) had also made the programs available via an IPTV service and through streaming websites and apps. GLWiZ had initially acquired the programs from GEM under an agreement, but after the relationship between GLWiZ and GEM broke down and the agreement was terminated, GLWiZ continued to acquire the programs from GEM by recording GEM’s satellite signal. Kanal D discovered that the programs were available on GLWiz’s platforms during a meeting between the companies, leading to the litigation. The Court determined that copyright in 2,974 episodes of the programs had been infringed and awarded statutory damages of $2,000 per episode plus $10,000 for live broadcasting of certain Kanal D materials, for a total award of $5,958,000.

These cases serve as a cautionary tale for streaming content providers to ensure that they are properly licensed in respect of all the material available on their services.