Case 1 - Prized Possession

A scenario such as this, where the key elements of ownership and the possession of goods are split on a temporary basis for a specific purpose, is referred to as a bailment and is usually set up under a written contract. The owner of the goods is known as the bailor and the party in possession of the goods is the bailee.

Al received instructions from the owner of the repair shop to leave the bike out front, which he had done in the past with no issue - until now.

The bailee is under a duty of care to take care of the goods while in possession of them. The standard of care that must be maintained under that duty depend on the type of bailment. In this case, the bailment was for repair /service to a motorcycle.

In a bailment for repair/service, the bailee must make the repairs in a skillful manner (under a contract of repair) and while the bike is in the possession, the common law of bailment states there is a duty to preserve the goods at a standard as if the repair person owned them. (p. 179 course text) This is beyond a general duty of care.

Both parties will have certain rights and duties under the legal relationship established by the bailment. These are created through both the contractual terms and conditions agreed to by the parties and the common law. The common law rules for a bailment apply IF there is no contract setting out the rights and duties, OR if the contract does not address a particular issue.

Case 2 - The Meme

The reproduction of publication of a work without the copyright owner's authorization would be considered infringement of a copyright. However, in Canada, there is an exception referred to as fair dealing under which, generally, it is not considered infringement to use a work for such purposes such as research, review, education, satire or private study. Copyright protection is also administered through copyright collectives such as SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) and Access Copyright.