Privacy Rights, Copyright Holders’ Rights, And The Internet

Originally published at www.irvinschein.com.

A recent decision of the Federal Court of Canada in a motion brought by Voltage Pictures LLC in a copyright infringement case provides an interesting insight into the way in which the Court will balance privacy rights, on the one hand, and the rights of copyright holders on the other hand.

Voltage owns the copyright in a number of popular movies, including The Hurt Locker. In this case, Voltage had a complaint about the unauthorized copying and distribution of its movies by about 2,000 subscribers of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) known as TekSavvy Solutions Inc. Since Voltage knew that the activity was going on but did not know the names and addresses of the subscribers involved in it, Voltage brought a motion to the Court for what is referred to as a Norwich Order. This is an order that requires people who are not parties to a lawsuit to be made to either provide information or attend for an examination for