Copyright and wrong National Post The notice-and-notice provisions of the new Copyright Modernization Act have been in force for just two weeks, and already the Tories much-vaunted made-in-Canada copyright law is showing cracks. The new law formalizes a practice under which copyright holders, for example film studios, who believe their work has been downloaded illegally, can compel Internet service providers (ISPs) to send customers suspected of this practice a notice asking them to cease and desist. ISPs are legally required to pass these notices on to their customers, but the identity of those under suspicion is kept confidential, unless the rights holder obtains a court order for the information. Although the system does not make it easier for rights holders to sue anyone suspected of violating copyright, the hope is that once people receive these notices they will be less disposed to download copyrighted work in the future. The problem is the system is being abused. Last week, University of Ottawa law professor and Internet policy expert Michael Geist revealed notices being sent by Rightscorp - a U.S.-based company that tries to collect settlements on intellectual property violations - that contain false and misleading statements. The notices, which have already been sent to some Canadians, cite U.S. law, which does not pertain to Canadians, and threatens to sue recipients for $150,000 if they dont pay a voluntary settlement. In fact, Rightscorp would have to go to considerable expense to obtain a court order to determine their identity, then launch a lawsuit - and even then, the maximum liability for non-commercial infringement is $5,000. Rightscorp is betting that those receiving the notices will be unaware of their rights under Canadian law, and pay the fine to avoid legal action. To make matters worse, Mr. Geist has uncovered documents showing that Industry Minister James Moore was made fully aware the system was ripe for abuse when the law was being drafted in 2012, but deliberately chose not to implement regulations that would have prevented companies from sending misleading notices. If, for example, the government had a standard template for these notices, a company such as Rightscorp would not be able to threaten to sue for 30 times the legal amount. Likewise, if ISPs did not face statutory damages of up to $10,000 for failing to forward a notice to a subscriber, the government could safely tell them to ignore notices containing blatantly false information. In response, Industry Canada this week posted information on its website, belatedly informing Canadians about their rights. This is simply not enough, as most people receiving these notices will not know the statements are false, or where to go to get educated on the subject. It is incumbent upon the government to move swiftly to implement regulations that will close these loopholes and prevent unsuspecting Internet users from being fleeced by foreign companies intent on abusing our copyright system. © 2015 Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 23:12:54 +0000
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