Vancouver Aquarium drops lawsuit against creator of critical documentary

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Aquarium has dropped its legal battle against a filmmaker whose documentary criticized its practices of keeping dolphins and whales in captivity.

The aquarium filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court in March 2016 against Gary Charbonneau alleging copyright infringement and breach of contract.

The court granted an injunction to the aquarium a month later to remove disputed content from the one-hour documentary called “Vancouver Aquarium Uncovered,” which it claimed would cause irreparable harm to the facility.

But the Court of Appeal ruled last November that the aquarium failed to provide any evidence supporting the claim and highlighted freedom of expression while siding with Charbonneau.

The aquarium filed a notice of discontinuance this week for the ongoing copyright dispute.

This comes after the aquarium announced earlier this year that it would no longer display cetaceans at its facility.