Vancouver Aquarium Sues Documentarian

The lawsuit is over copyright infringement in aquarium-critical documentary

Less than three months after filmmaker Gary Charbonneau released Vancouver Aquarium Uncovered, the aquarium has filed suit against him for copyright infringement. Charbonneau’s film criticizes the facility for keeping whales and dolphins in captivity, emphasizing the high death rate of captive cetaceans.

According to a notice of civil claim filed by the aquarium on Feb. 15, images and videos included in the film were used improperly and without permission, thereby voiding a contract Charbonneau signed on the aquarium’s premises. They are attempting to obtain an injunction and punitive damages. If they succeed, Vancouver Aquarium Uncovered will be removed from the internet and banned from public screenings.

Charbonneau defends himself by claiming that he gave sufficient credit for the media and used it to educate the public. He believes that the lawsuit is merely an effort to preserve the aquarium’s reputation, and questions why they are not arguing the allegations his film made against them in court. Instead, they addressed them in a post on their official blog.

“You can’t really attack the contents of the film, which is why there is no defamation suit—and it’s very frivolous and it’s disappointing they would do this, but we’ll fight it,” he said in a Feb. 18 interview with News 1130.