TAGGED AS COPYRIGHT
Arguments begin in NHL site-blocking case before Federal Court
Media | 11/10/2022 4:24 pm EST
Arguments began Thursday in a Federal Court case that would see pirated signals of NHL hockey games blocked. Associate Chief Justice Jocelyne Gagné presided over the more than three hour proceeding, which repeatedly went in camera to protect confidential information.
The...
Heritage Committee hears final witnesses on Online News Act
Media | 11/04/2022 5:50 pm EDT
Canada’s Online News Act could serve as a template for countries around the world who are seeking to protect legacy media from the overwhelming power of Google Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. This was part of the testimony at the House of Commons Committee on Canadian...
Broadcasters want policy direction on C-11; streamers want their algorithms left alone
Media | 09/15/2022 7:51 pm EDT
Canadian broadcasting executives, from companies...
SCC determines users shouldn’t pay for royalties twice under Copyright Act
Media | 07/15/2022 5:07 pm EDT
The Supreme Court of Canada says Canada’s Copyright Act “does not exist...
SOCAN sues Quebecor for $1.44M
Media | 07/11/2022 12:59 pm EDT
The Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is suing Quebecor Inc. for...
Rodriguez told to introduce news compensation by early 2022, Champagne to focus on spectrum “use it or lose it”
Media | 12/16/2021 4:45 pm EST
Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez is...
UPDATED: Rayes replaced by John Nater as Heritage shadow minister
Media | 11/09/2021 3:24 pm EST
A Conservative MP who was outspoken on the revised Broadcasting Act, Bill C-10, will be replaced as Shadow Minister for Canadian Heritage after party leader Erin O’Toole...
Dynamic site-blocking case gets Nov. 23 hearing date
Media | 11/03/2021 5:51 pm EDT
A test-case for Canada's first-ever "dynamic" site-blocking order is headed...
Bell, Rogers, and Quebecor seek larger damages from set-top box seller
Media | 10/27/2021 5:13 pm EDT
BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., and Quebecor Inc. have turned to...
UPDATED – Rodriguez back as Heritage minister, Champagne remains in Innovation
Media | 10/26/2021 12:47 pm EDT
OTTAWA -- MP Pablo Rodriguez is back in familiar territory as he is once...
Bell, Rogers, Quebecor apply for extended site-blocking in GoldTV
Media | 10/26/2021 9:30 am EDT
A trio of Canada's biggest broadcasters has asked the Federal Court for a...
Man fined $40,000 for selling set-top boxes
Media | 09/30/2021 4:49 pm EDT
A federal court judge has fined a pre-loaded set top box seller $40,000 for being in contempt of an...
Appeal court revives reverse class-action suit by Voltage Pictures LLC
Media | 09/09/2021 6:16 pm EDT
A federal appeal court judge has revived a proposed reverse class-action...
Federal Court orders content pirates to pay millions to Bell, Rogers, Videotron
Media | 08/11/2021 5:14 pm EDT
A Federal Court judge ordered three pirate TV services to pay more than $29...
Federal Court of Appeal dismisses BDUs’ appeal of distant signal tariffs
telecom | 07/23/2021 6:34 pm EDT
The Federal Court of Appeal ruled Friday partially in favour of a group...
Summer recess: your parliament update
Media | 06/25/2021 6:30 pm EDT
With Parliament rising this week for its summer break, a number of bills of interest to the broadcasting and telecom sectors (both tabled and untabled) sit in various stages along the legislative process.
Whether the bills have a chance of proceeding any further depends...
CIRA opposes ISP-level website blocking in “all but extreme” circumstances
Media | 06/01/2021 6:13 pm EDT
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is opposing internet...
Alberta judge denies injunction in Super Channel piracy suit
Media | 05/03/2021 5:43 pm EDT
An Alberta judge shot down a request from Allarco Entertainment 2008 Inc. for an injunction against Best Buy Canada Ltd., Staples Canada ULC, Canada Computers Inc., and London Drugs Limited as part of...
Supreme Court to hear making available right dispute
Media | 04/26/2021 5:55 pm EDT
The Supreme Court of Canada has decided it will hear an appeal from Music Canada and the Society of...
Feds considering site-blocking proposal
Media | 04/14/2021 6:20 pm EDT
The federal government has launched a consultation document to solicit feedback on whether or not it...
GoldTV site-blocking order runs “roughshod” over parliament’s authority: TekSavvy
Media | 03/25/2021 7:57 pm EDT
Is a Nov. 2019 court order mandating a number of internet service providers to block a "pirate IPTV" service a draconian imposition of an authority best reserved to...
Federal Court judge appointed to head Copyright Board
Media | 10/13/2020 6:16 pm EDT
The federal government has appointed Federal Court judge Luc Martineau as...
SkyChoice urges Federal Court to throw out Bell’s trademark injunction suit
telecom | 09/09/2020 3:36 pm EDT
A small Ontario telecommunications provider has told Federal Court it should be able to continue to market its wireless home internet service as “WiFibe,” urging it to deny a trademark injunction...
Bell argues site-blocking doesn’t need CRTC approval
Media | 09/04/2020 5:18 pm EDT
BCE Inc. has asked a Federal Court of Appeal judge to throw out an appeal of Canada's first ever site-blocking court order, saying that TekSavvy Solutions Inc.'s appeal of the order is grounded in...
Bell files for trademark injunction against SkyChoice’s WiFibe
telecom | 07/08/2020 5:54 pm EDT
BCE Inc. has asked Federal Court to order a small Ontario telecom to stop using the name “WiFIBE” for its wireless fibre internet service. Bell argued in a claim filed Monday that SkyChoice...
Rights holders, advocacy groups can intervene in site-blocking case
Media | 06/24/2020 9:25 pm EDT
In a closely-watched appeal of Canada's first-ever site-blocking court...
Federal Court of Appeal eliminates making available right for downloads
Media | 06/10/2020 1:49 pm EDT
The Copyright Board was wrong in extending the making available right to downloads in 2017, the Federal Court of Appeal has ruled. The court said the board, in making that decision, “went to...
Henderson steps down as Music Canada CEO
Media | 05/28/2020 5:58 pm EDT
Music Canada CEO Graham Henderson will step down from the role he’s held for more than 15 years, the organization announced in a Thursday press release. In the statement, Henderson said working at Music Canada had been a...
Allarco ordered to pay retailers’ court fees after dropping piracy lawsuit
Media | 05/15/2020 5:49 pm EDT
After dropping its lawsuit in Federal Court against four retailers whose employees it accused of recommending pirating content from media boxes sold in stores -- and subsequently launching a similar...
Rovi’s STB suit against Quebecor will proceed via Zoom
Media | 05/13/2020 4:14 pm EDT
A Federal Court proceeding between Quebecor Inc.'s Videotron and Rovi Guides Inc. that was halted in early March as the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began, will resume via Zoom, over the objections of Videotron, a judge has ruled. In a decision released Wednesday, Justice Roger Lafrenière quoted an Australian judge who ruled in a similar matter: "I think we must try our best to make this trial work. If it becomes unworkable then it can be adjourned, but we must at least try." The trial, which had heard from three witnesses from Rovi Guides before it was called off as the lockdowns and...
Premier League and Dazn support site blocking order
telecom | 05/12/2020 7:48 pm EDT
A consortium of rights holders — including the top tier of English soccer, the Premier League, sports streaming service Dazn and industry trade groups for book publishers — wants the Federal Court of Appeal to uphold...
Super Channel takes piracy fight to Alberta court
Media | 03/03/2020 11:50 am EST
Allarco Entertainment 2008 Inc.’s Super Channel has dropped its Federal Court lawsuit against four major retailers, whose employees allegedly recommended pirating content from media boxes sold in the store, only to launch...
Court must consider Charter rights in site-blocking case: BCCLA
Media | 03/02/2020 6:05 pm EST
Court mandated website-blocking is an "extraordinary" remedy and should only be granted sparingly, according to a court filing from the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. The BCCLA has...
CRTC chair, commish toured Rogers’ ‘piracy lab’
Media | 03/02/2020 1:23 pm EST
As part of their ongoing effort to fight content piracy, two of Canada’s largest media and telecom...
Court docs detail expansion of Canadian website-blocking order
Media | 01/08/2020 4:58 pm EST
Fresh documents are shedding light on how Canada’s first piracy case involving court-ordered website-blocking is playing out — revealing methods used by BCE Inc. to keep up with an expanding list of sites, and that Bell, Rogers Communications Inc. and Quebecor Inc. sent...
Recent ‘expanded’ disclosure order shows ‘worrying’ trend: expert
Media | 12/13/2019 5:11 pm EST
A recent Federal Court order for two internet service providers to disclose the personal information of alleged copyright infringers diverged from previous precedent by expanding the type of...
Rovi’s STB suit an attempt to extract royalties, Videotron says
Media | 12/06/2019 11:49 am EST
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron will argue in Federal Court later this month...
TekSavvy files appeal against site-blocking order
telecom | 11/25/2019 4:19 pm EST
Internet service provider TekSavvy Solutions Inc. has appealed a Federal Court order requiring ISPs to...
Voltage drops appeal in disclosure cost case
Media | 11/22/2019 5:09 pm EST
Voltage Pictures LLC and Rogers Communications Inc. have both agreed to drop their appeal and cross-appeal, respectively, against a decision by the Federal Court to award the telecom costs to dig up personal information of alleged...
Alberta court bans station from using Corus trademark legacy
Media | 11/19/2019 5:39 pm EST
An Alberta court has sided with Corus Entertainment Inc. in banning the use...
Court orders Canadian ISPs to block pirate website for the first time
Media | 11/15/2019 6:35 pm EST
In a precedent-setting decision, a Federal Court judge has ordered internet...
Voltage’s choice of defendant made ‘difference’ in class action failure: expert
Media | 11/14/2019 9:05 pm EST
The movie studio that has for years sought to sue...
BDUs appeal new distant signal tariffs
Media | 11/12/2019 12:00 pm EST
The country’s largest TV service providers are appealing an increase in the over-the-air distant signal...
MediaTube asking Supreme Court to review Bell Fibe case
telecom | 10/01/2019 5:44 pm EDT
Six years after first filing suit alleging BCE Inc. infringed on its patent in the making of the telecom’s Fibe TV — and along the way suffering a number of decisions against it — MediaTube Corp. is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to review its case.
The...
CRTC has no jurisdiction over site-blocking request, big telecoms argue
Media | 09/26/2019 5:31 pm EDT
BCE Inc., Quebecor Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. are arguing in...
Site-blocking is domain of CRTC, TekSavvy tells court
telecom | 09/24/2019 9:16 pm EDT
Even if the large telecoms satisfy the court’s threshold to move forward with forcing internet service...
IP addresses don’t necessarily link to individuals, CIPPIC argues
Media | 09/23/2019 6:37 pm EDT
In asking the Federal Court to deny certifying a class of defendants in a copyright infringement case, an advocacy group is arguing that an IP address is insufficient in proving an individual has...
Distributel asks court for ability to challenge future site-blocking
Media | 09/19/2019 7:22 pm EDT
In the event Federal Court allows a site-blocking application brought by...
Ordering pirate site blocking would ‘leapfrog’ BTLR: TekSavvy lawyer
Media | 09/13/2019 3:42 pm EDT
OTTAWA — On the second and final day of a potentially precedent-setting court hearing on site-blocking, a Federal Court judge gave the parties until Wednesday to negotiate a revised draft site blocking motion. The original motion from the plaintiffs in the case — BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., and Quebecor Inc. — would require seven third-party internet service providers (ISPs) to block GoldTV.ca and GoldTV.biz, two pirate “IPTV” websites the plaintiffs are suing. ...
Disclosure cost to Rogers based on ‘irrelevant’ evidence: Voltage counsel
Media | 08/22/2019 2:51 pm EDT
Counsel to Voltage Pictures LLC and a number of movie studios is asking the Federal Court of Appeal to review a case that found Rogers Communications Inc. is owed $67.23 to disclose the personal...
Japanese comics publisher wants info on alleged infringer from ISPs
Media | 08/20/2019 5:17 pm EDT
Shueisha Inc., a Japanese publisher of comic books, has filed an...
Federal Court rules Rogers entitled to $35 per hour for subscriber disclosure
Media | 08/08/2019 6:22 pm EDT
The Federal Court is setting at $35 the hourly rate that Rogers...
Federal Court grants injunction against GoldTV
telecom | 08/07/2019 6:51 pm EDT
OTTAWA — A Federal Court judge has granted an interim ban on what the big telecom companies are...
Broadcasters suing pirate ‘IPTV’ provider
Media | 07/22/2019 4:33 pm EDT
Three of the nation’s largest broadcasters are suing the owners of a service that is allegedly selling...
Close growing ‘value gap’ by eliminating safe harbour: Music Canada
Media | 06/26/2019 6:34 pm EDT
Music Canada, the trade organization which represents the Canadian divisions of some of the world’s largest record labels, has declared that the gap between what artists create and what they are...
Another MediaTube appeal request against Bell denied
Media | 06/13/2019 1:36 pm EDT
The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal request by MediaTube Corp. to present new evidence in a six-year-old patent infringement case brought against BCE Inc. Judge David Stratus agreed with Bell’s argument that...
Change safe harbour exemptions in Copyright Act, industry committee says
Media | 06/04/2019 6:27 pm EDT
The House industry committee is asking the Heritage committee to study...
Re:Sound seeks to double CBC radio royalties to $3M a year
Media | 05/14/2019 5:54 pm EDT
An organization representing sound recording rights holders wants to more-than double the royalties it bills CBC/Radio-Canada to play music on traditional radio -- to the tune of $3 million per year.
Re:Sound is proposing to increase the tariff on music played by CBC...
Long-time TekSavvy lawyer appointed to Federal Court
Media | 05/06/2019 4:25 pm EDT
Nicholas McHaffie, who served as counsel to TekSavvy Solutions Inc. in its long-running legal saga against movie studios looking to get the personal information of Canadians in copyright cases, has been appointed to the Federal...
Music orgs suing public establishments to recover royalties
Media | 03/28/2019 5:46 pm EDT
While the Canadian music industry aims to address revenue shortfalls in the...
Federal Court says disclosure motions need ‘best available evidence’
Media | 02/22/2019 6:13 pm EST
Key evidence relied upon by movie studios in a substantial chunk of copyright infringement cases that have yielded vast sums of money from settlements has been ruled insufficient by a Federal Court...
Public music should feature Canadian content, Stingray says
Media | 02/01/2019 1:18 pm EST
Music in public establishments such as malls, bars and restaurants should...
Rogers cost for disclosure case set for April
Media | 01/24/2019 3:47 pm EST
The Federal Court has set a spring date to determine how much Voltage Pictures LLC must pay Rogers Communications Inc. to hand over personal subscriber information after the Supreme Court found the telecom was entitled to “reasonable” disclosure fees. In September, the highest court in the land ruled in favour of Rogers in a battle over whether the telecom could charge Voltage fees to accurately process and deliver the personal information of its subscribers alleged to have infringed on the movie studio’s copyright. The SCC decision capped a lengthy period since a Federal Court...
Bell asked gov’t to ban some VPNs: documents
Media | 01/23/2019 4:40 pm EST
BCE Inc. urged the federal government to make virtual private networks (VPNs) used to circumvent...
ARIN CEO rejects legislative ask for IP address record rules
telecom | 01/08/2019 11:25 am EST
A regional internet registry is going to walk-back a controversial request...
ARIN asks Parliament to require ISPs to maintain Whois info
telecom | 01/04/2019 6:21 pm EST
The organization responsible for allocating IP numbers to intermediaries in...
CEO says Copyright Board to ‘run tighter ship’
Media | 12/06/2018 12:24 pm EST
OTTAWA — The Copyright Board will work to address long-standing criticism over how long it takes to issue decisions, including by implementing new regulations, CEO Nathalie Théberge told members of the House industry committee....
Bar Association tells committee notice-and-notice falls short
Media | 12/04/2018 5:36 pm EST
OTTAWA — The Canadian Bar Association told MPs Monday Parliament should introduce a new regime to deal with online piracy in the Copyright Act because the current notice-and-notice regime is...
Google asks MPs for ‘flexible copyright exemption’ for AI
Media | 11/27/2018 1:58 pm EST
OTTAWA — Alphabet Inc.’s Google wants members of Parliament to include...
Budget bill risks ‘compromising’ copyright board autonomy, committee hears
Media | 11/22/2018 12:18 pm EST
An expert in copyright law is asking senators to nix a reform measure in...
Ottawa paid $2K settlement after consulate shared copyrighted image
Media | 11/16/2018 5:11 pm EST
The federal government paid a $2,000 settlement to a Barrie, Ontario photographer, according to the 2018 public accounts, because bureaucrats shared a copyrighted image on a government Facebook page....
Voltage reverse class action motion moving ahead
Media | 11/12/2018 3:47 pm EST
A reverse class action case that has been stalled for nearly two years over the issue of costs will now move forward, after plaintiff Voltage Pictures LLC put up $75,000 in security for defence costs. Voltage paid the amount on Nov. 9, according to Federal Court records. The case was first launched in April 2016, with Voltage seeking class action certification for a case against respondents who illegally shared its content. The Wire Report reported at the time that the approach was a unique one and it was unclear whether the court would grant certification, with University of Ottawa...
Liberal government fills last two vacancies on Copyright Board
Media | 11/07/2018 4:00 pm EST
The federal government has named two new members to the Copyright Board of Canada, a move that fills the last vacancies on the board and comes alongside Ottawa introducing new board reform measures....
Consumer groups warn MPs against site-blocking pitches
Media | 11/06/2018 1:55 pm EST
OTTAWA — Consumer advocacy groups are cautioning MPs against proposals that would make site-blocking in Canada easier, after a push for those anti-piracy policies failed at the CRTC failed last...
Bell, Rogers re-raise site-blocking request to MPs
Media | 10/16/2018 3:43 pm EDT
OTTAWA -- BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. are asking the House heritage committee to amend parts of the copyright and telecommunications acts to compel a number of intermediaries to take down websites that make available...
Google Canada asks MPs for Copyright Board reform
Media | 10/04/2018 3:29 pm EDT
OTTAWA — Alphabet Inc.’s Google wants to see the Copyright Board of Canada tariff setting process...
Federal Court orders ban on ‘Mr. Blamo’ Kodi add-on software
Media | 10/03/2018 6:04 pm EDT
Nearly a dozen content producers have obtained a court order banning set-top box software developed by an individual in Canada that allows users to watch their content for free, according to court documents. The Sept. 24 decision by the Federal Court ordered Samuel Horkoff, a developer of Kodi add-on software, to stop developing, maintaining, updating, hosting, distributing or promoting applications that allowed users to access unlicensed content. The decision also forbids Horkoff from operating websites or making the plaintiffs’ works available on the internet, effectively banning his...
More than half of internet traffic is encrypted: Sandvine
Media | 10/02/2018 6:49 pm EDT
Internet traffic is “more encrypted than ever,” with a “conservative estimate” suggesting more than half of all internet traffic is encrypted, according to Sandvine Corp.’s 2018 Global...
As CRTC rejects FairPlay, proposal could move to legislative reviews
Media | 10/02/2018 11:20 am EDT
The CRTC has no jurisdiction to implement a system to block websites...
Allow ISPs to apply notice-forwarding costs to deter abuse: Telus
Media | 10/02/2018 8:21 am EDT
OTTAWA -- Fraudulent copyright infringement claims made through Canada’s...
New NAFTA allows Super Bowl simsub ahead of SCC review
Media | 10/01/2018 7:18 pm EDT
The new trade pact forged by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to replace the...
Big telecoms ask MPs for beefed up anti-piracy measures
Media | 09/27/2018 12:37 pm EDT
Some of the battles taking place before the CRTC related to site-blocking...
Broadcasters slam music industry copyright proposal
Media | 09/25/2018 1:46 pm EDT
OTTAWA — Canada’s private broadcasters are defending Canada’s existing copyright laws and tariff...
Bryan Adams asked Trudeau, Harper to change Copyright Act
Media | 09/18/2018 2:32 pm EDT
OTTAWA -- Canadian rock legend Bryan Adams is asking Canadian lawmakers to...
Rogers can recover some costs to disclose customer info, SCC rules
Media | 09/14/2018 10:37 am EDT
OTTAWA --- In a decision that could serve as a deterrent to copyright...
EU copyright directive passes
Media | 09/12/2018 2:24 pm EDT
The European Parliament passed its copyright directive Wednesday, with some amendments to the controversial articles 11 and 13.
The directive includes measures proposing that internet platforms, like Facebook Inc. or Alphabet Inc.’s Google, pay news companies to link to their content, as well as copyright protections that would see the implementation of systems to detect and block copyrighted material before it appears online.
In a press release Wednesday, the legislative body said it included some amendments in...
Broadcasters’ association, Corus, add new lobby registrations
Media | 08/24/2018 11:33 am EDT
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters registered to lobby the federal government on its review of the Copyright Act in July, which was otherwise a sleepy month in telecom and media government...
Canadians agreed to pay at least $200K to settle copyright suits in 2018
Media | 08/22/2018 5:08 pm EDT
More than a dozen movie studios have sued Canadians in recent months in a...
SCC denies Voltage appeal in costs case
Media | 08/10/2018 12:54 pm EDT
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) will not hear an appeal from an American movie studio challenging a Canadian court’s decision forcing it to pay court costs upfront for a defendant it is looking to sue for copyright...
Court nixing Que. site-blocking ‘helpful’ against FairPlay: advocates
Media | 07/24/2018 5:59 pm EDT
The Quebec Superior Court has ruled against a plan by the Quebec government...
12.5% Canadians watched pirated content in past month: MTM
Media | 06/21/2018 4:21 pm EDT
One in eight Canadians have watched pirated TV or movie content online in the past month, according to the Media Technology Monitor’s latest report.
That includes 10 per cent who have paid TV subscriptions, such as cable and satellite, and 26 per cent who don’t have...
EU committee approves internet filtering copyright directive
Media | 06/20/2018 4:43 pm EDT
A European Union committee has approved a controversial copyright directive that critics say could interfere with the sharing of online content. At issue are two articles under the directive. The...
‘Rare’ music industry consensus on key issues at Copyright Act review
Media | 06/15/2018 4:49 pm EDT
The House industry committee heard some familiar suggestions from a number...
ACTRA backs Music Canada asks on copyright reform
Media | 06/13/2018 5:14 pm EDT
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) asked a parliamentary committee...
Rightsholders facing ‘blasé’ attitude toward piracy, committee hears
Media | 06/08/2018 6:09 pm EDT
The popularity of fully-loaded set-top boxes, such as Kodi devices, is illustrative of an attitude of indifference toward piracy, the House of Commons industry committee heard Thursday. There is no...
26% of Canadians access pirated content, new report shows
Media | 05/30/2018 6:16 pm EDT
A government-commissioned report is shedding light on the extent of...
Copyright Act review shifts gears to radio, TV
Media | 05/25/2018 4:08 pm EDT
The ongoing review of the Copyright Act will begin focusing on the music, radio, television and film sectors next month. The House of Commons industry committee has heard from 100 stakeholders since the review began in...
FairPlay hits back, claims piracy cost TV providers as much as $761M
Media | 05/15/2018 3:00 pm EDT
The FairPlay coalition has responded to the laundry list of criticism...
Filipino company asks for set-top box sale shutdown in Ontario
Media | 05/14/2018 4:49 pm EDT
A media company from the Philippines is asking a Canadian court to put an...
Gov’t shouldn’t allow FairPlay regime: House committee
telecom | 05/09/2018 6:12 pm EDT
The House ethics committee said that if the CRTC rules in favour of a proposal to implement a website-blocking system to fight piracy, the federal government should consider overturning it.
The committee made the recommendation in a new report, released Wednesday, that...