Significant And Controversial Proposed Amendments To Canadian Copyright Act

On June 12, 2008, the Conservative federal government tabled Bill C-61 to amend the Copyright Act, describing it as a "made in Canada" solution to bring it in line with advances in telecommunications technology and current international standards.

The bill is complex and covers many different issues, but in the following summary we focus on some of the changes that most directly affect businesses, including content providers:

• Internet service providers (ISPs) would be obligated to adhere to a statutory "notice and notice" system. An ISP would have to immediately forward a copyright owner's notice of infringement to the alleged infringer and retain records on the identity of the alleged infringer. An ISP that fails to do so could be liable to the copyright holder for statutory damages ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.