The University of Toronto's case had been before the Federal Court of Canada since 2022.Wa Lone/Reuters
The University of Toronto has reached a settlement with a tutoring company it sued for copyright infringement that provides for the school to be paid $1-million in damages.
According to a consent judgment issued by the Federal Court of Canada last month, the Easy Group tutoring companies infringed U of T’s copyright and that of three named professors: Robert Gazzale, Lisa Kramer and Ai Taniguchi.
Easy Group Inc. is responsible for a handful of entities referred to in court documents as the Easy EDU companies. They operate tutoring services aimed at Mandarin-speaking students.
University of Toronto revokes Buffy Sainte-Marie's honorary law degree
The university and the professors alleged in previously filed court documents that the tutoring company was reproducing course outlines, digital slide presentations, lecture notes and assignments, all without authorization. In some cases, the company also allegedly provided tests produced by university faculty with answers included, which, the school argued, could put students on the wrong side of academic integrity rules.
The consent judgment, issued by Justice Meaghan M. Conroy on April 1, confirms that the Easy EDU companies infringed the plaintiffs’ copyright and they are “permanently restrained and enjoined” from doing so again.
It also states that the Easy EDU companies “shall pay” to the university $1-million in damages, plus HST and a rate of interest of 5 per cent.
According to Heather Boon, the University of Toronto vice-provost for faculty and academic life, the settlement includes an injunction that will prevent Easy EDU from “making any further use of U of T course materials.”
University of Toronto among Canadian schools targeted in widespread cyberattack on Canvas system
“Under U of T’s intellectual property policy, faculty members own the copyright in their course materials, and the university supports them in protecting their copyright,” Prof. Boon said in a notice published on a U of T website.
“The university encourages students to take advantage of the array of academic supports available across the university – most of which are covered by tuition – including writing centres, learning strategists, organized study groups, exam banks, workshops and academic success centres.”
Attempts to reach Easy EDU for comment were not successful.
Michal Jaworski, a Vancouver lawyer who has worked in the higher-education sector and has written about this case, said it was a victory for U of T to get a settlement without going to trial. The case had been before the Federal Court of Canada since 2022.
Mr. Jaworski said this case demonstrates how institutions and faculty can work together in a collegial manner to enforce their rights. In his view, though, the primary beneficiaries are current and future students.
The university’s position was that certain kinds of academic help can cross a line, and this ruling will help protect students in the long run, he said.
In one academic integrity case published on the university’s website, a judgment was issued against a student who was found to have participated in an Easy EDU tutoring session in which a tutor “provided solutions to questions that were nearly identical to the questions on the assignment.”
“The 180 students who had attended Easy EDU’s review session had received a study package of 22 questions, which corresponded directly to questions the professor had written for the assessment,” the judgment states.
Parents are paying consultants thousands to help get their kids into top universities
The student, referred to only by their initials, is described as an international student who ran the risk of potentially losing their Canadian study permit. The sentence handed down by a panel included a grade of zero in the course and a 28-month suspension from the university.
The panel said it was important to “send a very strong message to students that the use of unauthorized assistance is academic misconduct.”
The university has previously said it tried to address the issue of copyright infringement with the company’s leadership back in 2020 outside of the court process. It also has said that any proceeds from the case would be used to fund student academic supports.
A counterclaim made by Easy EDU against the University of Toronto was dismissed without costs.