Operation Claude Robinson

I’ve read and heard that Claude Robinson had won and that his defendants had to pay him 5.2 million dollars. Why are you asking me to contribute financially to his cause?

Yes indeed, during the recent Supreme Court trial, the businesses sued by Claude have been found guilty of plagiarism and were condemned to pay him 5.2 million dollars. However, these businesses decided to appeal the court’s ruling. Since they are able to absorb it financially, and due to the total lack of scruples they’ve displayed until now foreshadow a long and exhausting fight for Claude. The war is far from being won. We want to help him go through the Court of Appeal during the next two years, and beyond if necessary.

According to what I’ve heard, Claude Robinson’s attorneys have agreed not to charge him anything until he has received the amounts granted by the court. Why does he need money now?

Gowlings Lafleur Henderson, the law firm that represents Claude, has agreed to postpone their honoraries until the end of the legal proceedings. However, Claude is responsible for all legal disbursements, i.e. all fees pertaining to hearing transcripts, bailiffs, photocopies, expert reports, testimonies, interrogations, and more. The Supreme Court fees alone exceed $250,000. At the time this site was launched, while the Court of Appeal procedures are just starting, the account is already overdue… If Claude can not gradually pay these fees, he will have a hard time defending his rights.

For instance, each official photocopy from the Superior Court costs $3.00!

I don’t have the financial capacity to give some money, but Claude Robinson’s cause affects me and I’d like to help him. How can I help?

Obviously, in this fight, money is the key. However, the population’s support and mobilisation are also important factors. You can help Claude by joining our Facebook group and by inviting your friends to do the same. If you have a blog or a Web site, an entry on the situation or a link to our Web site can make a huge difference. If you can’t contribute financially, maybe one of your friends or readers will be able to do so. All efforts count.

I’m not an artist, an author or a creator… How does this cause concern me?

Beyond the fact that Claude is a creator, he’s a simple citizen fighting against powerful multinationals that robbed him. In this case, we’re referring to drawings, a literary and artistic creation, and a global concept. However, it could be your house, your land, or any other possession of yours that could be robbed from you without your knowledge… This is essentially the case of truth and justice triumphing against powerful entities. In this sense, Claude’s resistance is an example for all. He has simply decided he would not let these giants do whatever they wish to do. What happened to him could happen to you. In this regard, we believe he deserves all his fellow citizens’ support.

As a citizen, I can see the interest in financially contributing to Claude’s fight. How can I convince people around me who will ask me: “Why should I participate, since as a taxpayer, I can’t get a tax receipt?”

One of the businesses that stole Claude’s work, Les Films Cinar Inc., is a Canadian society that greatly benefited from various grants and many tax benefits over the years. Therefore, this business is indebted to all Canadian taxpayers due to the way it acted and used the funds that were paid by our taxes.

However, in the fall of 1999, it was exposed that Films Cinar Inc. was not only stealing this creator’s ideas; it was also using nominees in order to obtain tax credits to which it was not entitled. They were taking money straight from taxpayers’ pockets… Few people actually know this, but it was Claude’s dedication that exposed this illicit subterfuge. He was the first to figure out it was impossible to find a script-writer who had supposedly worked on several Cinar productions. They were simply nominees behind which were Cinar executives or American script-writers.

Thus, Claude Robinson’s fight exceeds his own interests as simple creator. A simple look at the big picture shows that this fight is about the relationship of trust required between government-supported businesses and taxpayers.

Do you also count on contributions from business people?

Absolutely! Besides, the first contribution came from a CEO. They are citizens just like us who are thirsty for justice. Furthermore, it is in their interest to dissociate themselves from businesses who, like Cinar and the co-defendants, partake in unscrupulous activities. In the public eye, these behaviours are prejudicial.