Is file sharing in Canada illegal

7 April 2004

Is file sharing in Canada illegal?

A Canadian judge today ruled that sharing music over the internet via p2p platforms or software
cataloging programs is not illegal.

This ruling has shocked the music industry and is suggested to be a serious blow to the music
industry on a global scale.  This ruling comes during the series of  legal actions against mp3,
movie and software downloaders in and across the globe, including Canada.

The Canadian federal Judge ruled against the Recording Industry Association, which had asked the
court to force five Canadian internet service providers to give up the names, phone numbers and
addresses of 29 anonymous file-sharers which it believed was infringing copyright.

The Judge’s decision, "I cannot see a real difference between a library that places a photocopy
machine in a room full of copyrighted material and a computer user that places a personal copy (of
a track) on a shared directory linked to a P2P service." has suggested that other courts could
take this view and therefore loosen the ropes on downloading throughout the common law arena.

Lawdit has been keeping a close eye on the legal position to music downloads and believes that
this decision rests on a pair of earlier Canadian decisions. The first case ruled that downloading
for personal use was not illegal as Canadians nationals compensate artists by paying tax on
recording media such as CDs, cassettes and computer mediums. However it also made clear in its
ruling that uploading music for others to use was still illegal and a breach of copyright. The
second case was decided in Canada’s Supreme Court ruled that photocopying that merely providing
the ability to copy material and did not in itself amount to copyright infringement.

Will the Copyright Recording Industry Association appeal this decision and have the ruling
overturn?

Riyaz Jariwalla