If you’re like one of the millions of great people living in Canada that enjoys downloading movies and music for free your time is coming to an end. Big Brother is watching you. A Montreal based company named Canipre who has been hired by the Motion Picture Association and Recording Industry has told the media it’s collected data on a million Canadians that have illegally downloaded pirated content. It’s apparent that the once relaxed and actual sane copyright laws are coming to an end and file sharing in Canada is about to change forever because of money thrown from heavy corporate influence towards our Government.
Canadian Piracy Laws
For years we have had the upmost freedom and little legal worries when it came to downloading anything we wanted but it appears thats all about to change. Canipre has said thanks to a recent Federal Court ruling that Internet providers are now forced to release detailed information about it’s subscribers that it’s the first step in an industry wide crackdown against illegal file sharing in Canada.
It’s a for sure sign that the door is closing and the average joe should think twice about downloading content they know is illegal. But to say it will stop or slow down could be the biggest understatement. Peer-to-peer file sharing has been around almost as long as the internet itself and it wasn’t until the explosion of the now defunct Napster that this whole copyright reform came into practice because money hungry corporations were losing out on more profits.
Backed by governement the entertainment industry continues its plea that file sharing amounts to copyright infringement and piracy.
Last week the Federal court ordered several Internet service providers to invade the privacy of many and hand over names and addresses of subscribers who were linked to illegal downloads of a NGN Prima Production featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin. The company who is based out of Burnaby British Columbia has accused those subscribers of downloading illegal copies of their movie named “Recoil”. Truthfully I don’t know whats more sad, the fact that people are actually downloading this movie or the fact that NGN Prima Production will be able to stay in business for producing such crap.
While not as demanding as the U.S ruling its possible that any individual caught file sharing in Canada thats deemed to be illegal could face fines of up to $5000, a far cry from the U.S ruling of $150,000.
More File Sharing Lawsuits Coming
This is just the beginning it seems. Canipre is already involved in another lawsuit which aims to be a much bigger case that could slap thousands of Canadians with fines who have been caught downloading movies, music and other content. It’s been rumoured that the company has files on one million Canadians who’ve downloaded movies via BitTorrent over the last five months. I’ve known numerous people who have received warnings from their service providers about being engaged in illegal downloading but have done nothing but ignore them…under Canada’s new copyright law, copyright holders can seek damages limited to $5,000 for non-commercial infringement.
We’ve known for along time it was coming and it’s only a matter of time before the first individual gets slapped with a lawsuit. Under heavy influence and probably a lot of corporate dollars the Canadian movie industry has followed the lead of it’s U.S counterpart. Heaven forbid these people adapt.
I often wonder how long it will be before both the MPAA and RIAA realize they need to change. I can’t speak for the rest of you but with the emergence of home theatres and Flat Screen TV’s available I find myself wanting to watch a movie in the comfort of my own home instead of some dirty grungy theatre. Provide me an opportunity to watch the latest theatre releases from the comfort of my couch and I’ll bet you see less file sharing.
Canadian Copyright Change
The time has come and file sharing in Canada is about to change forever. While the industry giants will look to thwart the downloading of movies within Canada it won’t ever stop it. People adapt, especially on the internet. When one peer-to-peer network gets shut down or blocked ten new ones arise. Perhaps the threat of maximum penalties of $5000 will slow down or have people second guess their decisions but it won’t ever stop it from happening. In the meantime if you’re one of those millions of Canadians who use BitTorrent to do such things I would suggest stopping or finding another alternative. Unfortunately this is just the beginning in the on going legislation of the internet.
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