Diskin&CoContact
Diskin&Co

Toronto, Ontario

Portrait of Matthew J. Diskin

Toronto · Entertainment & IP Litigation

Copyright, trademark, defamation and commercial disputes for film, television, music, media and brands.

Start a confidential conversationNotable matters
  • The Best Lawyers in CanadaDefamation and Media Law
  • The Best Lawyers in CanadaEntertainment Law
  • LexpertLitigation: Defamation & Media
  • IP Stars (Managing IP)Trade Mark Star
  • Called to the barOntario, 2005
  • Appellate courtsOntario · Alberta · British Columbia · Federal
  • ArbitrationInternational and domestic
  • FormerlyPartner at a Toronto Seven Sisters firm
  • Editor-in-ChiefQueen’s Law Journal

01The practice

Diskin & Co is a Toronto litigation practice for the businesses and people behind film, television, music, media and brands. Matthew J. Diskin founded it after partnerships at a Toronto Seven Sisters firm and at the world’s largest law firm.

The practice is built for disputes where the work itself is at stake: a release on hold, a mark being copied, a story being told, a deal coming apart. Clients get senior counsel from the first call to the last appearance.

About Matthew Diskin

02Record

Litigation results are matters of public record. The decision below remains one of the most frequently cited Canadian authorities on fair dealing in documentary film.

Notable matter

2020 ONSC 2504

Wiseau Studio, LLC v. Harper

Ontario Superior Court of Justice

Counsel for the defendants, the makers of the documentary Room Full of Spoons (while at the world’s largest law firm).

What the court decided

  1. 01The documentary’s use of clips from The Room was fair dealing for the purposes of criticism, review and news reporting.
  2. 02The court treated fair dealing as a user’s right to be interpreted generously, applying the Supreme Court of Canada’s framework in CCH.
  3. 03The earlier injunction was dissolved, and the defendants succeeded on their counterclaim for the harm it caused.
Read the case study Decision on CanLII

Results described are matters of public record. Past results do not guarantee or predict outcomes in other matters.

03Practice

Trial and appellate litigation, urgent motions, and the advice that keeps disputes from starting.

04Approach

Large-firm partnership experience, without the large-firm structure around it.

  1. 01

    Partner-led

    The lawyer you meet is the lawyer who argues your case. No hand-offs, no layers of leverage.

  2. 02

    Industry-literate

    I know how productions, labels, agencies and brands actually work, so the strategy fits the business, not just the pleadings.

  3. 03

    Strategy before suit

    Many disputes are best resolved before a claim is issued. I will tell you which ones are, and what the alternatives cost.

05Insights

Commentary on copyright, media and litigation developments in Canada and beyond.

All insights

The first conversation is about whether litigation is worth it. Tell me briefly what the dispute is about and I will respond after a conflicts check.

Contact the firm[email protected]