Downloading Movies using Bit torrent, Illegal in Canada?

[TDOofSD]

I just got this email from my internet service provider, Cogeco, first time to ever get a letter like this:

Dear Subscriber

Cogeco Cable Inc. has received a letter that alleges that activities associated with your Internet service are infringing copyright in certain copyright protected material in which the copyright is owned or exclusively licensed.

Activities that infringe copyright are prohibited under Cogeco's High Speed Internet Service Agreement and Acceptable Use Policy which establish actions Cogeco Cable can take if the situation is not remedied. For more details please refer to section 17 and Schedule A of this Agreement which is available at [url]http://www.cogeco.com/aup[/url]

The forwarded email provided at the end of this message indicated the specific details of this alleged activity. If you have any questions or concerns about the statements included in the email below, please contact the complainant directly.

For further information on Canada's copyright regulations visit:
[url]http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/new-e.html[/url]

For information on disabling upload capabilities on common Peer-To-Peer applications visit:
[url]http://home.cogeco.net/p2p[/url]

Regards

Cogeco Network Security
[url]http://www.cogeco.com/aup[/url]
1-888-558-2233

> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
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> Cogeco Cable Solutions
> 950 Syscon Drive
>
>
>
>
>
> Notice ID:6798823
> Notice Date:15 Sep 2004 16:01:57 GMT
>
> Dear Sir or Madam:
>
> BayTSP, Inc. ("BayTSP") swears under penalty of perjury that Paramount Pictures Corporation ("Paramount") has authorized BayTSP to act as its non-exclusive agent for copyright infringement notification. BayTSP's search of the protocol listed below has detected infringements of Paramount's copyright interests on your IP addresses as detailed in the attached report.
>
> BayTSP has reasonable good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of in the attached report is not authorized by Paramount, its agents, or the law. The information provided herein is accurate to the best of our knowledge. Therefore, this letter is an official notification to effect removal of the detected infringement listed in the attached report. The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, the Universal Copyright Convention, as well as bilateral treati
es with other countries allow for protection of client's copyrighted work even beyond U.S. borders. The attached documentation specifies the exact location of the infringement.
>
> We hereby request that you immediately remove or block access to the infringing material, as specified in the copyright laws, and insure the user refrains from using or sharing with others Paramount's materials in the future (see, 17 U.S.C. §512).
>
> Further, we believe that the entire Internet community benefits when these matters are resolved cooperatively. We urge you to take immediate action to stop this infringing activity and inform us of the results of your actions. We appreciate your efforts toward this common goal.
>
> Please send us a prompt response indicating the actions you have taken to resolve this matter. Please reference the Notice ID number above in your response.
>
> Nothing in this letter shall serve as a waiver of any rights or remedies of Paramount with respect to the alleged infringement, all of which are expressly reserved. Should you need to contact me, I may be reached at the following address:
>
> Mark Ishikawa
> Chief Executive Officer
> BayTSP, Inc.
> PO Box 1314
> Los Gatos, CA 95031
>
> v: 408-341-2300
> f: 408-341-2399

Should I take this seriously? I doubt I will :) just gonna keep downloading movies. Any thoughts? Just post them. Thx

[cmge]

hmm thats weird.. ive never gotten that then again im on rogers high speed.. ive gotten warnings about my excessive d/l and u/l b4 but nothing like the mail posted above.... hmmm id say ignore it?... if they send u more than one more emails like it then take it seriously...

wasnt there a law or something passed a while ago thats its ok to d/l mp3/movies/etc just as long as u dont share them?..

[TDOofSD]

yeah I heard about that law too.

[rookie]

[QUOTE=cmge]wasnt there a law or something passed a while ago thats its ok to d/l mp3/movies/etc just as long as u dont share them?..[/QUOTE]

I heard that as well... it's okay to download just can't upload!

[Bortman]

[QUOTE=cmge]hmm thats weird.. ive never gotten that then again im on rogers high speed.. ive gotten warnings about my excessive d/l and u/l b4 but nothing like the mail posted above.... hmmm id say ignore it?... if they send u more than one more emails like it then take it seriously...

wasnt there a law or something passed a while ago thats its ok to d/l mp3/movies/etc just as long as u dont share them?..[/QUOTE]

The supreme court of Canada deemed it 100% LEGAL to fileshare.
[url]http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5182641.html[/url]

They don't really say anything about movies, but music is 100% fine.

[Merlocke]

Yup yup. Seeing I seem to read up on these things... (see the other posts I have for all of the arguments I have on other laws)

Canada basically shot itself in the foot regarding challenging folks on "backup media" because of the taxes they charge on recordable media. Back when tapes were the hottest thing since sliced bread, the radio stations and record companies blew up saying that now nobody would purchase their originals anymore. So Canada stepped up and saw the free tax they could impose, and return a portion of which to the record industry to help retain some of their lost profits.

Basically in a nutshell - since we pay taxes on it - we're allowed to download.
Or at least that's how I've understood it. I don't have as much backup on this one as I haven't researched it as thoroughly. Anyone else have any rulings on this?

[TDOofSD]

Just got another similar email from cogeco in response to another movie I was downloading LOL. Same company as before issued the warning to cogeco.

[SoNgMaN]

send the US guy an email tell him tocome and get you...just make sure you have some blank media kicking around if he comes...you've paid your tax ;)

[danfromwaterloo]

A) They have no way of proving you have copyrighted material unless you share your files to others, therefore, no basis for warrants.
B) No basis for warrant = not allowed to enter property to search for said material
C) If it exists in your house, as long as you're not a complete tool about it, they can't/won't come to try and find it.

[kloan]

this doesn't sound legal to me.

[gman]

Downloading movie is illegal in Canada.

The private copy law or 'hole' is for music copy only.

[kloan]

yes, but cross border prosecution? can they do that?

[gman]

[QUOTE=kloan]yes, but cross border prosecution? can they do that?[/QUOTE]

It probably hard to do cross border prosecution but they don't have to. What they have to do is to use a local company to sue within Canadian law.

[Ryan]

The first thing that would happen is Cogeco kicking you off I would imagine.

[Ojam]

they can't touch you, not because it not illegal, but because in order to be given your personal information, you have to be, being charged with a criminal offence, copyright infringement is tort offence, so if your ISP gave your information away, they could be held liable under our new privacy act.