The operators of CanLII, a popular website that publishes court and regulatory decisions across Canada, are suing a North Vancouver businessman for allegedly scraping its database to create a legal research tool using artificial intelligence software.
The filed a notice of civil claim against Alistair Vigier and his respective companies Clearway Management Ltd., 1345750 B.C. Lt. and Caseway AI on Nov. 4, asserting Vigier took over 120 gigabytes of data comprising over 3.5 million “CanLII works.”
CanLII says this bulk download was done without permission and without compensation.
CanLII is a non-profit group founded by the Federation of Law Societies in 2001. It uploads court and regulatory decisions to its website as a public service.
CanLII’s claim states it “expends significant time, resources and expertise to review, analyze, curate, aggregate, catalogue, annotate, index and otherwise enhance the data.”
This work is subject to the Copyright Act, according to the claim.
According to CanLII, “in or around” September 2024, Vigier and his companies launched Caseway, an AI-driven chatbot for legal research that may be used for a monthly fee.
“Although the Caseway Platform does not disclose the source of its catalogue of legal documents on the face of its website, the Defendants have suggested in public articles and promotional materials that the Caseway Platform uses the CanLII Works,” the claim states.
“In this regard, and at a time unknown to CanLII, but known by the Defendants, one or more of the Defendants or their agents accessed the CanLII Website and coordinated the bulk and systematic download and scraping of the CanLII Works from the CanLII Website,” added CanLII, via Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.
CanLII has demanded Caseway remove the data and is requesting the court to issue punitive damages, if the claim is successful.
Vigier has not responded to the notice of claim in B.C. Supreme Court but provided a statement to Glacier Media, which reads, in part: “The information Caseway accesses is publicly available, and no proprietary systems or exclusive content belonging to CanLII have been affected. Additionally, CanLII’s user base and data integrity remain intact, with no evidence of financial loss, operational disruption, or diminished access. In short, CanLII’s services continue as before, with no demonstrable harm or financial detriment resulting from Caseway’s independent data sourcing methods.”
When asked if he confirms or denies if Caseway took the data from CanLII, Vigier stated “Caseway does not use any data owned by CanLII, although both Caseway and CanLII will have similar data, given that both use court, tribunal, and board decisions. Caseway does not use any CanLII work product or enhancements.”
Vigier also said “CanLII’s lawsuit admits that it is uncertain about the specific data Caseway uses. We find it premature for CanLII to file a lawsuit without confirming this first.”
Vigier also pointed to the numerous public websites that post decisions.
“It's also not reasonable to suggest people can't use data that CanLII didn't create or own. The court decisions on CanLII are the judges' work, not theirs,” stated Vigier, via email.
Vigier operates ClearwayLaw, which cultivates public information about lawyers, turning it into profiles.
Vigier added: “People like Steve Jobs were known for disrupting entire industries, and that came with its own set of challenges. He faced numerous battles, both in and out of the courtroom, as he pushed for innovation. I see myself in a similar role within the legal industry, challenging traditional models and paving the way for new, tech-driven solutions in an area that’s inherently complex and often resistant to change.”
