Finding The Class Of John And Jane – Norwich Orders And The "Reverse" Class Action

In the context of today's Internet technology, the infringement of copyrighted works has become simplified and wide-spread, with infringers emboldened by the ability to keep their identities largely private. Due to this veil of anonymity, copyright owners have had to find creative ways of enforcing their rights against the John and Jane Does of the Internet.

Notice and Notice

In Canada, the Copyright Act provides for a "notice and notice" regime for alleged infringers hiding behind an IP address. Under this regime, there is a mechanism for copyright owners to send notices of alleged copyright infringement to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to be forwarded on to their subscribers (i.e. the alleged infringers) based upon their subscribers' IP addresses as identified by the copyright owner [see s.41.25 of the Copyright Act]. The ISP is obligated to forward the copyright owner's notice of alleged infringement to the subscriber/alleged infringer. While the identities