The appellant art gallery, Galerie d'Art du Petit Champlain, purchased cards, photo-lithographs and posters embodying various of the artist's works from the publisher, and then transferred the images to canvas.

Galerie d'Art du Petit Champlain bought the rights to make a limited number of paper copies of Théberge's paintings in order to create posters from them.

Binnie J, with McLachlin CJ, Iacobucci, and Major JJ concurring, held that there was no reproduction involved because no new copies were made.

The respondent is responsible to find authority for the seizure in the Code of Civil Procedure read in the light of the Copyright Act.

It also found that if they considered the creation of the canvas as a "reproduction" despite the lack of multiplication, they would be reading in the American right of derivative works, a concept without statutory basis in Canadian copyright law.

He characterizes the use of Copyright as a limited economic right: Significantly, as well, he acknowledges the need for a public domain: L'Heureux-Dubé, Gonthier and LeBel JJ dissented.