Canada Ruling Could Allow ISPs to Charge for Identifying Online Pirates

9 years ago

The Supreme Court of Canada said that it will be hearing a case that could allow internet service providers (ISP) to charge a fee for revealing information about a suspected online pirate.

The lawsuit is seeking to reveal information about a suspected movie pirate to film producers seeking to crack down on people who illegally share copyrighted material.

Rogers has assembled this information for a group of movie producers that want to use it within a lawsuit. However, the telecom wants to charged $100 an hour plus tax for finding the information.

The Federal Court agreed with this, however, producers appealed saying there are thousands of expected infringers and the fee could be a large financial burden on their efforts.

The Federal Court of Appeal sided with the producers and the case has now advanced to the Supreme Court of Canada. Justice David Stratas, writing for the appeal court, said:

“The overall aim, then, is to ensure that in the age of the internet, the balance between legitimate access to works and a just reward for creators is maintained.

The internet must not become a collection of safe houses from which pirates, with impunity, can pilfer the products of others’ dedication, creativity and industry.”

Only time will tell what the final ruling will be. We will have to wait to find out!

[via The Globe and Mail]

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7 Comments

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Shaf Patel

8 years ago

Good thing most of us use VPNs then!

My 1/2 cents

Reply to Shaf Patel

8 years ago

most don’t and even if they did they have a false sense of security since many vpn providers keep logs.

Bob Mcknight

Reply to My 1/2 cents

8 years ago

Nord vpn does not keep logs and works great

Bill___A

8 years ago

This is an issue between the entertainment industry and the pirates, a third party such as an ISP should not have to bear the costs.
I do not pirate and don’t agree with those who do. I believe in paying for what is consumed. However, in 1997, when they introduced the “blank media levy” I lost all interest in caring about these content producers at all. They were perfectly content to “punish the innocent” by making everyone pay the levy. I have a long memory and I will not forget this injustice anytime soon.

Maybe Rogers should get $150 an hour, or $200 so they are not losing money on it

Here is what I’m referring to: (Copied from Wikipedia)
A blank media levy was introduced in Canada in 1997, by the addition of Part VIII, “Private Copying”, to the Canadian Copyright Act. The power to set rates and to set the distribution allocation is vested in the Copyright Board of Canada. The Copyright Board has handed the task of collecting and distributing the funds to the Canadian Private Copying Collective, which is a non-profit private organization.
the levy is collected regardless of the purchaser’s end use of the media.

Hosaka

Reply to Bill___A

8 years ago

I remember that levy and the uproar. There was one store (or store chain) that didn’t follow the blank media levy so I went there for my CD-R needs back then. Does the levy still exists now with DVD-R and Blu-Ray writable?