In the five years since, the legal battle has dragged on so long that there was no end in sight until last week, as Canadian courts became embroiled in copyright allegations that tested recently passed legislation aimed at protecting Canadians’ rights to free expression, the Public Participation Protection Act.
To raise funds for his defense, Linklater said in a blog announcing the settlement that he had invested “ten times more” his life savings. Additionally, nearly 900 GoFundMe supporters and thousands of members of the Association of Administrative and Professional Staff at UBC contributed thousands more. For the final year of the fight, a law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright, agreed to represent him on a pro bono basis, of which Linklater said, “It was a great relief to me, because it meant I could defend myself in every way if Proctorio decided to pursue litigation.”
The terms of the settlement remain confidential, but Linklater and Proctorio both confirmed that no money was exchanged.
For Proctorio, the settlement made permanent the injunction that prohibited Linklater from posting educational materials on the company’s help center or website. But that doesn’t stop Linklater from remaining the company’s biggest critic, as Linklater states in his blog, “There are no other restrictions on my freedom of speech.”
“I won my life back!” Linklater reassured his supporters, writing that he was “fine” with the way things ended.
Linklater wrote, “It doesn’t take much imagination to understand why Proctorio is a nightmare for students.” “I can say everything that matters about Proctorio using public information.”
Proctorio’s YouTube “mistake” led to ban
In a statement to Ars, Proctorio’s head of marketing Kevin Rockmell suggested that the ad tech company views the settlement as a win.
“After years of successful litigation, we are pleased that this settlement (which does not include any monetary compensation) protects our interests by making our initial restraining order permanent,” Rockmel said. “Most importantly, we are pleased to close this chapter and focus our efforts on helping teachers and educational institutions deliver valuable and secure assessments.”