The deadline is approaching for freelancers to make claims under the second Heather Robertson settlement.

In 2003, Toronto-based writer Heather Robertson launched a class-action lawsuit on behalf of freelancers, with the lawsuit alleging the copyright of freelance authors was infringed on by Toronto Star Newspapers, Rogers Publishing, Canwest Publishing and affiliates when the works were added to online databases without permission.

The settlement was approved on May 2, 2011 by the Ontario Superior Court with a separate settlement reached with CanWest Publishing Limited approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on June 16, 2010. The combined value of the settlements is around $7.9 million.

The deadline to submit a settlement claim is Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. EDT. For more information on making a claim and to access the settlement claim form, click here.

More information on this settlement or about making a claim is also available by contacting Koskie Minsky LLP by email at freelance1classaction@kmlaw.ca or by phone at 1-866-777-6343.

Prior to this case, in 1996, Robertson sued Thomson (now Thomson Reuters) for reproducing and reselling two of her articles in electronic databases without her consent. A class-action lawsuit settlement was approved by the Superior Court of Ontario and under the terms of the settlement, the defendants agreed to pay $11 million according to Koskie Minsky LLP.