Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamingStuffedTiger
A quick response...
I'm pretty sure this is not true. As fredr123 points out in the post above, there are provisions that do protect copyrighted works in Canada. Therefore, it is illegal to improperly download them.
Now, in my opinion, whether someone has ever been charged before is irrelevant... Just because no one has ever been charged for something, doesn't automatically make the act legal. It just means no one has been charged for it yet.
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As the BMG v. John Does case demonstrated, there are all sorts of technical problems in identifying the person alleged to be infringing copyright. Most of the ISPs involved in that case refused to voluntarily hand over their customers' identification information to the complainants which meant they had to seek an order to get that information through the court system. That's really what that case is about more so than the comments about what may or may not be legal with respect to downloading music in Canada.
The recording industry in Canada decided to focus on copyright reform and has been one of the most vocal proponents to change our laws to reflect WIPO and DMCA provisions. I'm convinced they are also supporters of laws that would require ISPs in Canada to cooperate with law enforcement by more readily handing over subscriber data without a court order. All these changes help them get around the challenges in BMG and would give them more power to enforce alleged copyright infringement.