Federal Court Of Appeal Upholds Canada's First Copyright Site-Blocking Order

On May 26, 2021, the Federal Court of Appeal released its decision in Teksavvy Solutions Inc. v. Bell Media Inc., et al.,¹ upholding the first site-blocking order issued by the Federal Court in a copyright infringement case. The decision comes as a long-awaited appellate confirmation that site-blocking orders are available in copyright cases in Canada.

Teksavvy involved a motion by the plaintiffs, Bell Media Inc., Groupe TVA Inc. and Rogers Media Inc., requesting that a number of Canadian Internet service providers (ISPs) be ordered to block access to certain websites. The websites in question, goldtv.biz and goldtv.ca, were operated by unidentified defendants. They offered unauthorized subscription services that provided access to programming content over the Internet. The Federal Court granted the order, which required the named ISPs, none of whom were defendants or accused of any wrongdoing, to block their subscribers' access to the websites.