Casey Chisick* is a partner at Cassels, serving as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, and as Chair of its Intellectual Property and Entertainment, Media & Sports practices. Certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Intellectual Property (Copyright), and having worked as a law professor, a jazz producer, a concert promoter, and a musician, Casey offers his clients a rare combination of recognized expertise in copyright and other IP matters and first-hand experience in the business of entertainment. He provides transactional advice and litigation counsel to clients in a wide array of industries, including music, film, television, broadcasting, theatre, video games, advertising, publishing, software, visual arts, new media, fitness and leisure, health care, fashion, and higher education. He also advises general business clients with IP needs and consults on negotiation strategy for businesses of all kinds.
As a transactional lawyer, Casey serves as a trusted advisor to clients on deals ranging from the purchase and sale of music, film, television, broadcasting, and new media assets to the development, financing, production, and distribution of TV programs, feature films, and theatrical productions. He has also negotiated a host of recording, management, publishing, appearance, branding, and employment agreements for well-known artists and executives. Beyond the creative industries, Casey has conducted IP audits, developed IP policies, and served as chief outside counsel to companies in various fields, including IT outsourcing, interactive advertising, fitness and nutrition, and functional genomics.
As litigation counsel, Casey has appeared in seven seminal copyright appeals before the Supreme Court of Canada: SOCAN v. Bell Canada, Entertainment Software Association v. SOCAN, Rogers Communications v. SOCAN, Alberta v. Access Copyright, CBC v. SODRAC, York University v. Access Copyright, and, most recently, SOCAN v. Entertainment Software Association. His submissions to the Federal Court of Appeal in TekSavvy Solutions Inc. v. Bell Media Inc. et al. were instrumental to upholding Canada’s first website-blocking order in a copyright infringement case. Casey is well-known for his expertise in the collective administration of copyright, having served as lead counsel in many rate-setting proceedings before the Copyright Board of Canada. He has also represented clients in IP and entertainment matters before the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the courts of Ontario and British Columbia, and the Competition Tribunal.
Clients frequently seek Casey’s specialized expertise in relation to special projects and studies involving the exploitation and monetization of IP for emerging business models. Casey has also authored influential submissions and testified before Parliamentary and Senate committees as an expert witness on copyright and broadcast-related issues.
Casey is also very active in the international legal community. From 2022 to 2024, he served as President of the Copyright Society (formerly the Copyright Society of the USA), one of the world’s leading organizations dedicated to the advancement of copyright law awareness and education, the only person from outside the United States ever to be elected to that position. He also serves as counsel to a number of top international trade associations and has held several leadership roles in the International Trademarks Association (INTA).
Casey has been recognized repeatedly by Managing Intellectual Property as Canada’s outstanding copyright law practitioner (2020, 2022, 2023). In 2024, he was named to Billboard Canada’s inaugural Power Players list, recognizing his stature as one of the most influential professionals in the Canadian music industry.
Casey was the gold medalist in law at the University of Manitoba, earned an LL.M. as a Fulbright scholar at Harvard Law School, and served as law clerk to The Hon. Mr. Justice Frank Iacobucci of the Supreme Court of Canada. He has taught at several Canadian law schools, sat on the boards of leading theatre companies and jazz festivals, and served as executive producer of award-winning recordings.
*Services provided through a Professional Corporation
