A group of parents has filed a lawsuit against a Montreal-area high school art teacher and his school board after students found their classroom artwork available for purchase on the teacher’s personal website last month.
The parents of 10 young students at Westwood Junior High School in Saint-Lazare, Que., an off-island suburb west of Montreal, filed the lawsuit for $1.575 million, or $155,000 per plaintiff plus punitive damages, against the teacher, Mario Perron, and the Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB) for alleged copyright infringement.
Edith Liard, one of the parents represented in the lawsuit filed in Quebec’s Superior Court Friday, said the incident turned her daughter off the idea of becoming an artist.
“My daughter loves art, always has been into art, and this year after everything happened, she said to me, ‘I don’t think I’ll do art next year,'” said Liard.
“I was surprised because she’s always been artsy at home before school, and she actually chose Westwood because of their arts program.”
Joel DeBellefeuille, another parent represented in the lawsuit, says while the amount of money sought might seem outrageous, it represents the scale of intellectual property infringement that took place.
“We requested $5,000 per artwork that