Stop threats to Canada's online pirates, rights holders told
10/01/2015 24:21
TORONTO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Media companies must back off
from threatening Canadians who illegally download movies, music
and books with penalties that do not exist in Canadian law, the
government said on Friday.
"These notices are misleading and companies cannot use them
to demand money from Canadians," said Jake Enright, a spokesman
for Industry Minister James Moore.
Officials will be contacting Internet Service Providers
(ISPs) and rights holders within days to put an end to the
practice, he said.
The issue surfaced on Thursday, when University of Ottawa
law professor and respected industry blogger Michael Geist
posted a letter from a rights holder that threatened civil
liabilities of up to $150,000 per infringment.
Canadian law caps liability for non-commercial infringements
by individuals at $5,000.
Recent legal amendments require ISPs to pass on to their
customers copyright infringement notices from media companies.
The opposition New Democratic Party earlier on Friday urged
the Conservative government to close what they called a
loophole.
"The Conservatives are letting these companies send false
legal information to Canadians in order to scare them into
paying settlements for movies or music no one has even proved
they've actually downloaded," NDP Industry Critic Peggy Nash
said.
Geist said ISPs should reassure customers that their
personal information has not been disclosed and point out
Canadian law on the issue.
He urged the government to penalize companies that send
false information or make "misleading settlement demands."
The letter posted by Geist, sent by Rightscorp Inc on behalf
of music rights manager BMG Rights Management to an unidentified
Canadian ISP, also offered a legal release from the copyright
owner for $20 per infringement.
It is not clear how many of these letters have been sent out
in Canada, or how many people have opted to settle.
The Canadian lawyer retained by Rightscorp, Susan
Abramovitch, did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Canada's biggest telecom company, BCE Inc BCE.TO , said it
adds its own message to the notices it is legally obliged to
pass on, pointing out that it played no part in identifying the
possible unauthorized use of content.
(Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Richard Chang)
((alastair.sharp@reuters.com; +1-416-941-8118; Reuters
Messaging: alastair.sharp.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: CANADA MEDIA/COPYRIGHT