A contract dispute usually begins as a payment that does not arrive or a deliverable that does not match what was promised, and it becomes a legal problem at the point where one side stops answering. What happens next depends on what the contract says, what the evidence shows and, increasingly, on the deadlines that run whether or not anyone is paying attention.
What a breach claim requires
The claimant has to show a contract, its terms, a breach and a loss flowing from it. The first two are where creative and service agreements most often fail, because the work started on an email chain and a handshake, the scope changed three times and nobody signed anything. A contract can exist without a signed document, but proving its terms from correspondence is slower, more expensive and less certain than pointing to a clause.
What the Court can order
The ordinary remedy is damages measured to put the innocent party in the position they would have been in had the contract been performed, subject to the duty to take reasonable steps to limit the loss. Where money is not an adequate answer, the Court can order specific performance or grant an injunction, which matters in licensing and exclusivity disputes where the harm is the use of the work rather than an unpaid fee. Interest runs on judgments, and the losing party ordinarily pays a portion of the winner’s legal costs.
Creative and licensing disputes
Disputes over creative work have two features that general commercial disputes do not. Copyright stays with the creator unless it is assigned in writing, so a business that paid for a logo, a website or a piece of software and assumed it owned the result frequently does not, and the argument turns on what the contract said about ownership and licence. Moral rights, which belong to the author personally and cannot be assigned, can also be asserted where work is altered or used in a way that damages the author’s reputation. Unpaid royalties, terminated licences and exclusivity breaches follow the same contractual analysis, with the added question of what the licensee is entitled to keep using after termination.
Which court, and how long you have
Civil claims up to $100,000 are heard in the Alberta Court of Justice, which is faster and more informal, and claims above that amount, or those seeking injunctions or other non-monetary relief, go to the Court of King’s Bench. The limitation period is two years from when the claimant knew, or ought to have known, that the loss occurred and that a claim was warranted, with an ultimate limit of ten years. Many commercial contracts also contain mediation or arbitration clauses that have to be followed before or instead of a court claim.
Before a claim is issued
A properly drafted demand letter resolves a surprising proportion of disputes, because it sets out the claim, the amount and the deadline in terms that make the cost of ignoring it clear. Where it does not, the letter is the first document in the court file. In either case the record should be assembled now: the contract, every version of the scope, the invoices, the correspondence and any evidence of what was delivered and when.
Where the firm can act
Contract drafting, demand letters, negotiation and settlement are available to businesses and creators anywhere in Alberta. Contested claims are taken where the file proceeds through the Calgary Courts Centre. The practice is virtual, so meetings happen by video, telephone and email, with in-person meetings available on request in Cochrane or in Calgary.
If a contract has been broken, an invoice is unpaid, or your work is being used outside its licence, call (587) 328-3328.
Frequently Asked Questions
Possibly. A contract can be formed by emails, conduct and partial performance. The terms have to be proved from the record, which is harder than pointing to a signed document but often possible.
Usually the contractor, unless copyright was assigned to you in writing. Paying for the work does not transfer ownership on its own. The contract should say who owns the result and what licence the other party keeps.
Two years from when you knew or ought to have known of the loss, with an ultimate limit of ten years. Contractual mediation or arbitration clauses may have their own timelines.
Claims up to $100,000 go to the Alberta Court of Justice. Larger claims, and claims for injunctions or other non-monetary relief, go to the Court of King’s Bench.
Related services
- Copyright, Publishing & Media Agreements
- Influencer, Sponsorship & Brand Agreements
- IP Strategy, Licensing & Monetization
- Brand Protection Strategy
- Creator & Digital Business Structuring
- IP & Creative Contract Disputes
- Image Rights & Personality Rights Advisory
- Entertainment, Music & Digital Media Agreements
