Technology law students band together to defend potential CRIA piracy targets

A call has gone out to university law students across the country to aid those who find themselves on the wrong end of a music-piracy suit. In January, University of Ottawa student Andy Kaplan-Myrth and a counterpart at the University of Windsor, Telly Lebedev, posted a new web site, CanFLI.org, for a new ad hoc group, the Canadian File-sharing Legal Information Network (CanFLI), devoted to information about the legalities surrounding music sharing. The call to action by the two students, both of whom are active in their campus’ technology law clubs, comes in the wake of news that the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) plans to begin suing those it says are infringing copyright laws by sharing music online. Those suits have not yet been announced. The group has focused on the narrow issue of the music suits and is not planning an active role in the broader issue of digital copyright reform. The students are hoping that the site and a network of law students can provide those being sued with help in the form of information but stopping short of actual legal advice. A note on the group’s site reads: "CanFLI…is a project that aims to bring together from across Canada law students and practitioners interested in helping people who are targeted by CRIA. The site is currently running but content development will be an ongoing process as we attract more volunteers and participants. CanFLI is meant to be a public advocacy project, collecting and making available information that can help ordinary people who are sued by CRIA be informed about Canadian copyright law and Canadian procedure. "CanFLI is agnostic on questions of digital copyright reform. We support artists and the right of creative people everywhere to profit from their works. We also want to make sure Canadians have access to justice and can find lawyers to take on these cases. If CRIA is going to take a page out of the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) playbook, then we want to state our objection to the scapegoating of minors and senior citizens." Says Kaplan-Myrth: "Our main concern is that people should have a Canadian source to turn to to get relevant information about Canadian copyright law in the context of downloads… "Information can go a long way to helping students decide if they want to pursue these things or settle. None of this has been tested here." He says, for instance, that while there has been significant press in the U.S. about those being sued by the RIAA, there are important differences between American and Canadian law. One key area, he notes, is in the subpoena process. He says that, in particular, the music industry may use ex parte motions - requests to a judge to issue warrants without the other side appearing - to get subscriber information from Internet service providers (ISPs). He says that such motions should only be used in extreme cases such as those dealing with child pornography. (Jay Kerr-Wilson, VP of legal affairs for the Canadian Cable Television Association - which represents cable ISPs likely to be asked to cough up names - tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that ex parte motions aren’t a significant concern and are well-established within the system.) CanFLI has also been making overtures to the legal community, seeking practising counsel who might be willing to defend those to be named in the upcoming suits. The group won’t be able to provide any financial help, however. Kaplan-Myrth says the web site remains the focus for the moment as the group seeks a critical mass of students and others participating to contribute articles and create a knowledge base. Contacting those named by CRIA with an offer of help has not been ruled out.

Technology law students band together to defend potential CRIA piracy targets

Broadcast | February 6, 2004

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