Talk:File sharing in Canada

I know there is a lot more information on this topic out there in cyberspace...please find it and add it. Thanks. Rob 19:09, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

False information in the article
This information:

However, contrary to popular opinion, file sharing in Canada is not completely legal. Important distinctions have been made regarding the legality of downloading versus uploading copyrighted material. Copyright decisions in Canada have seemed to make it legal only to download copyrighted material for personal use. Uploading or distributing copyrighted material is not allowed according to recent copyright decisions.

...is apparently chiefly based upon http://grep.law.harvard.edu/articles/03/08/22/1655233.shtml, essentially a blog entry. After having reviewed the Real World in Canada, the most recent decision says nothing like the above. I am therefore ripping everything out and replacing it with something true. Loisel 03:21, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

First of all, you should realize that evidence for the conclusion that uploading is allowed in Canada is presented in the "Legal History" section. Secondly, the blog entry is actually run by the Harvard Law School, which I'm sure we can agree is a reputable institute for interpreting legal history (they do not solely look at American law). The original edit says "Copyright decisions in Canada have SEEMED to make it legal" does not make this a deductive argument, but an inductive one. Therefore, the edit does not guarrantee certainty of the claim that uploading is legal, but merely suggests it likely to be true based on past legal decisions. 207.112.76.138 03:52, 18 October 2006 (UTC)Alex


 * Actually, it's an "anonymous" blog entry. Even if you were to consider GrepLaw a reputable source for such information, they have mentioned that they have not reviewed that specific anonymous entry.  I will go look for a reputable source for the claim that file uploading is illegal or sources that might say otherwise;  I know for a fact that CNet.com at one point said that the 2004 ruling also made file uploading legal (http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5182641.html).  Thanks.  Saeed Jahed 20:41, 3 November 2006 (UTC)


 * I tried to fix up some of the misinformation in the article. It must be made clear that under Canadian law, music is treated differently from any other copyrighted work, because the private copying exemption only applies to music (that's also the reason we pay ~$0.21 per blank CD..).  File sharing of any sort of copyrighted works other than music is clearly illegal.  Djedi 08:06, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

In the case BMG Canada Inc. v. John Doe, the judge has clearly stated that music sharing is legal. However, it does not necessarily make file sharing legal in Canada since in the appeal (2005), the court expressly addressed the conclusions of the Motion Judge relating to copyright law by providing a number of examples to demonstrate that it was premature for the Motion Judge to have reached any conclusions with respect to copyright without having heard the full evidence and legal argument that will be presented at trial (http://www.moffatco.com/pages/publications/BMG%20Case%20-%20E-Commerce.pdf). As such, doubts remain about the legality/illegality of online music sharing and people shouldn't assume that they are immune from prosecution as the court may be called to clarify the matter in future litigations. Tempestdrg, 15 August 2007.


 * the decision of the appeal court (2005) mentioned above, essentially erased any decisions about whether file sharing constitutes copyright infringement or not. therefore practically this whole article is out of date and wrong. i'll try to fix it... 85.179.77.63 15:22, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
 * ok, did some editing, hopefully there's no more false information... -- 85.179.77.63 (talk) 22:18, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

i reworded the statement "Previous Canadian copyright decisions found it legal..." - the citations given only give opinions from analyst Micheal Geist, and from an anonymous law student on a blog. the citations make no reference to any actual legal decisions. perhaps the statement was referring to a 2003 ruling of the copyright board, but even then the statement was misleading, since the copyright board has no authority to make law. i have also reworded the history section on this topic to reflect that. IamNotU (talk) 01:54, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

More than just music
Would someone include something, however brief, about non-music file sharing in Canada, including movies, copyrighted software, television shows, and other copyrighted works? Thanks Rob 05:56, 25 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Done (to an extent.. maybe should be elaborated?) Djedi 08:07, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Missing Citations Tag
to Collarblind, please indicate why and where you feel citations are missing, since there are plenty of citations and footnotes in the article. -- 85.179.77.63 (talk) 22:23, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
 * ok, no response from Collarblind, and i can't see any reason for the tag, so i'm reverting it. IamNotU (talk) 19:56, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

to Elakhna - this article contains many citations. so it is clearly false to state "This article does not cite any references or sources" at the top. i have un-done your tag. please feel free to clarify your reasons for putting the tag there and we can see if we can improve the article. IamNotU (talk) 23:31, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

File sharing and the fees or levies (taxes) placed on recordable media (CD-r's, etc)
If we here in Canada have been paying a special tax for the past x years on recordable media, and if that tax has been given to the Canadian recording industry as compensation for music copying, then why isin't music uploading/downloading legal in Canada?


 * it is legal. downloading anyway. we're not completely sure about uploading, but probably.


 * I know, from personal experience, that the MPAA pursues for uploading, but not for downloading. If they pursue Canadians, it's probably because they have some sort of legal case available to use against Canadians. Or maybe they are just trying to scare people and just don't have anything up their sleeves. 99.252.59.196 (talk) 03:25, 10 April 2010 (UTC)

If the recording industry is being compensated for it, then why is it illegal?


 * it's not illegal. ditto.

As far as I know, Americans pay no taxes on recordable media that goes to the RIAA.

Also, has anyone in Canada been taken to court for being an uploader, or a downloader of music? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.51.0.142 (talk) 21:41, 30 December 2007 (UTC)


 * yes, they have.
 * for more detailed answers to your above questions, you might enjoy reading the article File sharing in Canada. IamNotU (talk) 00:02, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

Could someone please find some source for...
downloading "complete copyrighted works such as books, movies, or software is illegal under the Act". Thanks! Rob (talk) 01:00, 17 February 2008 (UTC)


 * the second sentence in that same paragraph contains essentially the same statement ("unauthorized copying or distribution of copyrighted material, whether for profit or for personal use, is illegal under Canada's Copyright Act."), and cites the act itself as a reference. is that not sufficient? IamNotU (talk) 23:54, 20 February 2008 (UTC)


 * no reply from Rob after more than a month, undoing "citation needed" tag... IamNotU (talk) 04:00, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Legality of Private Copying onto MP3 players and computer hard drives
I've noted the additional requirement for the private copying exception that it must be made onto an audio recording medium and that the FCA ruled that MP3 Players are not audio recording medium (and neither is the permanent storage embedded in them). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.233.228.29 (talk) 03:00, 21 August 2008 (UTC)


 * i rewrote that section, because you implied that music copied onto mp3 players is illegal, but this is not true. the copyright board put a levy on the storage embedded in them, but the court ruled that the embedded storage could not be considered an audio recording medium. so that part is settled. however, the copyright board now says that an entire mp3 player as a unit is an audio recording medium, and that the court's statement that it isn't, was not directly relevant to the case regarding the embedded storage, and so does not set any legal precedent. the copyright board's position is that an mp3 player is an audio recording medium, and just because it doesn't have a levy at the moment (they're still trying) doesn't mean it's illegal to make copies onto them. please see the citations for more info. IamNotU (talk) 14:31, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

Cleanup
I've added cleanup to the article because it seems very unorganized. For example, one of the main things that sticks out to me is the intro is overly long and is slightly complicated to understand.--Richard (Talk - Contribs) 21:32, 17 January 2009 (UTC)

Article too heavily weighted towards legality/illegality of file sharing
Either the title of the article should change or the content balanced. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.207.100.181 (talk) 11:10, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

Criticism section
While it is true that peer-to-peer has a contributing factor in music purchases (people who can listen to something are more likely to buy it, than someone would ever make a blind faith purchase), should there not be something mentioned in the criticism section in referral to the recession? It seems so heavily slanted against Canadians, like we're the scum of the Earth and no one was buying music, but I don't think it was so much that as people were buying less music because there was less money/higher prices to go around. -70.66.90.57 (talk) 19:20, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

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