Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Downloading and Sharing Music Not Illegal in Canada
Posted by Jason Dunn in "NEWS" @ 10:00 PM
"In what analysts are calling a "stunning" decision, the Federal Court has ruled against a motion which would have allowed the music industry to begin suing individuals who make music available online.
Justice Konrad von Finckenstein ruled Wednesday that the Canadian Recording Industry Association did not prove there was copyright infringement by 29 so-called music uploaders.
Without the names, CRIA can't begin filing lawsuits against the alleged high-volume music traders, identified only as John and Jane Does. It also reaffirms what the Copyright Board of Canada has already ruled - downloading music in this country is not illegal."
This surprises me a bit - Canadian laws are usually in step with US laws, although we tend to be a bit more European and liberal with some of them. Thankfully, we don't have anything as heavy-handed as the DCMA in Canada. I do wish that the only online service that we have access to, Puretracks, had a bigger music catalogue.
Justice Konrad von Finckenstein ruled Wednesday that the Canadian Recording Industry Association did not prove there was copyright infringement by 29 so-called music uploaders.
Without the names, CRIA can't begin filing lawsuits against the alleged high-volume music traders, identified only as John and Jane Does. It also reaffirms what the Copyright Board of Canada has already ruled - downloading music in this country is not illegal."
This surprises me a bit - Canadian laws are usually in step with US laws, although we tend to be a bit more European and liberal with some of them. Thankfully, we don't have anything as heavy-handed as the DCMA in Canada. I do wish that the only online service that we have access to, Puretracks, had a bigger music catalogue.
