Illegal Downloading: the Wild West Comes to an End

2014-05-13

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ILLEGALDOWNLOADING:THEWILDWESTCOMESTOANEND

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INCENTBERGERONANDJEAN-SEBASTIENRODRIGUEZ_PAQUETTE*
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CanadianInternetuserswhoillegallydownloadmusic,moviesortelevisionseries
cannothidebehindtheanonymityofthewebtoavoidlawsuits.

CanadianInternetuserswhoillegallydownloadmusic,moviesortelevisionseries
cannothidebehindtheanonymityofthewebtoavoidlawsuits.TheFederalCourt
reiteratedthispastFebruarythatInternetserviceproviderscouldbeforcedtoreveal,
tocopyrightholders,theidentityofpeoplewhoaresuspectedofhavingillegally
downloadedworksthatareprotectedbytheCopyrightAct(RSC1985,cC-42;the
“Act”).Thefulljudgementisavailablebyfollowingthislink
.

Inthiscase,VoltagePicturesLLC(“Voltage”),anAmericanfilmproducer,wasable
toidentifytheIPaddressesofseveralInternetuserswhomtheysuspectedofillegally
downloadingthemovieDallasBuyer’sClub.However,sinceanIPaddressisnot
sufficienttoidentifyaperson,VoltagehadtoconvincethecourttoforceTekSavvy
SolutionsInc.(“TekSavvy”),anOntarianInternetserviceprovider,toprovidethem
withthisinformation.

SinceTekSavvydidnotwanttotakepositioninthedebate,theCanadianInternet
PolicyandPublicInterestClinic(“CIPPIC”)wasauthorizedtointervene,andto
opposetheargumentsmadebyVoltage.Tothiseffect,theCIPPICreferred
particularlytosections7and8oftheCanadianCharterofRightsandFreedoms

[ConstitutionalAct,1982,(UK)Part1]andallegedthatTekSavvyshouldnotreveal
therequestedinformation,sincethiswouldviolatetherighttoprivacyofitsclients.
Voltageinturnarguedthatreceivingthisinformationwasessentialinordertodefend
itscopyrightinterestsandtoobtaincompensation.

Balancingtherightsoftheparties

ThecourthadtodecidebetweenVoltage’srightsandtheconstitutionalrights
ofInternetusers.Tosettlethisissue,thecourtconductedareviewofCanadiancase

©CIPS,2014.*FromROBIC,LLP,amultidisciplinaryfirmofLawyers,andPatentandTrade-markAgents.Published
intheSpring2014(Vol.17,no.4)Newsletterofthefirm.Publication068.174E.

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lawinthearea,inadditiontoEnglishandAmericancaselaw.Byapplyingthetestin
BMGCanadaInc.c.Doe[2005,FCA193],thecourtdeterminedthatVoltagecould
benefitfromaNorwichinjunctionorder:anorderbywhichthecourtobligesathird-
partytoprovideessentialinformationinordertoallowtheexerciseofanaction
againstanotherparty.

ThecourtstatedthatrespectingVoltage’scopyrightoutweighedtheInternetusers’
righttoprivacy.However,itaddedthattheviolationoftheInternetusers’rightsto
privacyhadtobereasonable,andthatithadtokeepinmindthefactthatVoltage
hadareputationforabusingtheircopyright.Thecourtalsohadtokeepinmindthat
therewasariskthattheywouldreceivealargenumberofsubsequentactions
involvingthetargetedInternetusers,andthattheproceduralcostswerefargreater
thanwhatVoltagewasseeking,sincethisamountislimitedbytheAct.

TheCourt’sDecision

Intheend,thecourtruledinfavorofVoltageandrequiredthatTekSavvyrevealthe
contactinformationoftheuserssuspectedofhavingillegallydownloadedtheworks
inquestion.However,duetothefactthatVoltagehadthereputationofbeinga
“copyrighttroll”(acompanythatabusesitsrightstoextortmoneythroughthreatening
lawsuits),thecourtorderedthatVoltagehadtosendthecourtacopyoftheletters
thatitintendedtosendtothetargetedusers.Thecourtcouldthenapprovethe
contentofthelettersbeforeVoltagewouldbeabletosendthem.Thisensuredthat
theletterswouldnotappeartobethreateningandthattheyclearlymentionedthat
thetargetedpersonswerenotyetfoundguiltyoftheallegationsandthattheyhadno
obligationtoreachanout-of-courtsettlementwithVoltage.

Conclusion

Insummary,CanadianInternetuserscannolongerbenefitfromanonymitybyhiding
behindtheirIPaddresses,sinceInternetserviceproviderscannowbeforcedto
revealthecontactinformationassociatedwiththeseaddresses.However,anyone
whomakessucharequestmustdemonstratetothecourtthattheyhaveabonafide
claimandthattheInternetserviceprovideristheonlysourceforthedesired
information.Theymustalsodemonstratethatthisinformationisessentialtothe
protectionoftheircopyright.

Somemaysaythatthisjudgementisastepbackwardswithrespectthefundamental
rightsofInternetusers;howeverthecourt’sdecisiontoimposerestrictionson
Voltageregardingtheexerciseofitsrightsisitselfanimportantstepforwardtoavoid
abusivelitigation.Infact,thisdecisionisinlinewithrecentlegislativemodifications
whichlimitstheamountofdamagesthatcanbeawardedforcopyrightinfringement.
Thelegislatorwishedtoensurethatcopyrightholderscouldnotthreaten

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exaggeratedlawsuitsinordertobullysuspectedInternetusersintoacceptinganout-
of-courtsettlementwithouthavingtheopportunitytohaveajustandfairtrial.

Nevertheless,giventhattheActallowsfordamagesbetween$100and$5000for
non-commercialusage,itiscertainlymoreeconomicaltosubscribetoalegalonline
service!

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