This practice notice pertains to subrule 12(2) of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Rules whereby “[a] party may make a written request to the Tribunal to file a document as a single copy exhibit.”
Filing single copy exhibits
We only accept the filing of single copy exhibits when it’s
- impractical to copy a document and serve it on other parties due to its size, and relative importance or relevance; or
- demonstrated that no other course of action is possible.
Such exhibits are not easily accessible to parties and their representatives based outside of the National Capital Region, which may pose concerns of procedural fairness.
Using single copy exhibits to address copyright or licensing concerns
We no longer accept the filing of single copy exhibits as the only means of dealing with concerns over possible copyright infringement or contractual licensing restrictions.
Copyrighted materials
The use of copyrighted materials in Tribunal proceedings (e.g. parties’ briefs, witness statements) may often be within the fair dealing exception of section 29 of the Copyright Act. It’s up to parties or their counsel to determine whether the fair dealing exemption applies in any given case. Wherever possible, documents should be filed on the public record.
Licensing restrictions
If a party wishes to designate copyrighted materials as confidential due to licensing restrictions, counsel must provide such materials to other parties so that we can be assured that procedural fairness has been upheld, failing which we will not consider the materials in issue. We understand that parties share such materials through various means, including via limited disclosure undertakings.
Parties filing material on the Tribunal’s record take sole responsibility for any third-party claims in copyright infringement or in breach of contractual licensing obligations that may arise from their actions.