Is File-Sharing Legal in Canada? (Part 4)
Please see (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)
Part 3 ended with the trial judge explaining that copying music was ok, since we Canadians have to pay a tax on blank CDs that is supposed to be distributed to labels to mitigate the monetary loss made possible by the public’s God-given right to do what they want with what they buy. In addition, putting my tunes in shared folder, does not constitute a crime, because I am not giving you my Metallica, you are simply moving it to your device (which is not taxed, BTW).
Since this all appears to be legal, that does not justify ordering the ISPs to snitch on their clients. Therefore, the labels can’t sue us directly… yet.
The labels appeal…
Several months later in July 2004, the CIRA appealed the decision. Justice Edgar Sexton reviewed the case and the Federal Court of Appeal handed down its unanimous decision on May 19, 2005. The Appellant Judge dismissed the appeal, but “having regard to what must be considered as divided success on this appeal, there will be no order as to costs.” (Sexton, 2005 par. 56) Read more…
