Conceptualized by theatre activist Donovan King, the festival was founded in Montreal in 2004 by King and fellow theatre activists Jason C. McLean and Gary St-Laurent as a response to high registration fees and conflict-of-interest sponsorships in the St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival and the trademarking of the word "Fringe" by the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals.
The festival's mandate insists on no registration fees for participating artists, no ticket surcharge and only ethical sponsors that pose no conflict of interest.
References
Raina Delisle (2005-07-08). "Wild car ride is more fringe than Fringe: New Infringement Festival rolls out provocative show". Ottawa Citizen. pp. C10.
Miyoko Ohtake (2005-07-22). "Infringement Festival takes bright ideas to Allentown sites". Buffalo News. p. G14.
Bill Brownstein (2006-05-18). "Anarchy's the answer for this fest". Montreal Gazette.
Kathryn Greenaway (2006-06-07). "Beyond the Fringe". Montreal Gazette. p. D5.
Matt Harrison (2006-06-29). "Community Garden". Ottawa Xpress. Archived from the original on 2006-07-21. Retrieved 2006-09-08.