- Aug 20, 2000
- 20,577
- 432
- 126
Music industry loses in downloading case
Canada's music industry can't force Internet service providers to identify online music sharers, a Federal Court judge has ruled.
CTV's David Akin told Newsnet that the music companies -- through the Canadian Recording Industry Association -- had identified 29 people who had traded music online using services like Kazaa, but only by their online nicknames.
They wanted the Internet service companies like Sympatico, Rogers and Shaw to give them the real identities of the individuals so they could sue them for copyright infringement. They were seeking a court order requiring the companies to provide the information.
But they didn't get it, so the Internet companies don't have to identify their clients and the music companies can't proceed with their lawsuits.
The judge ruled the music companies had not provided enough evidence that any copyright infringement had occurred or that the companies could identify the individuals.
"No evidence was presented that the alleged infringers either distributed or authorized the reproduction of sound recordings. They merely placed personal copies onto shared directories on their computers which were accessible by other computer users via an online download service," the judge wrote.
As a result, using an online download service for personal use does not amount to copyright infringement in Canada, Akin said.
Canada's music industry can't force Internet service providers to identify online music sharers, a Federal Court judge has ruled.
CTV's David Akin told Newsnet that the music companies -- through the Canadian Recording Industry Association -- had identified 29 people who had traded music online using services like Kazaa, but only by their online nicknames.
They wanted the Internet service companies like Sympatico, Rogers and Shaw to give them the real identities of the individuals so they could sue them for copyright infringement. They were seeking a court order requiring the companies to provide the information.
But they didn't get it, so the Internet companies don't have to identify their clients and the music companies can't proceed with their lawsuits.
The judge ruled the music companies had not provided enough evidence that any copyright infringement had occurred or that the companies could identify the individuals.
"No evidence was presented that the alleged infringers either distributed or authorized the reproduction of sound recordings. They merely placed personal copies onto shared directories on their computers which were accessible by other computer users via an online download service," the judge wrote.
As a result, using an online download service for personal use does not amount to copyright infringement in Canada, Akin said.