On January 2nd, 2015, one of the new sections of the Copyright Act was brought into force.  This new section is commonly referred to as the “Notice and Notice” section and sets out the process that an aggrieved copyright owner must follow in the event that another person infringes their copyright on the internet. The concept of copyright complaints for internet copyright infringement is nothing new – you may have heard of the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which is commonly abbreviated to DMCA.  Under the DMCA, a copyright owner is permitted to serve upon a data host or internet service provider a DMCA “takedown notice”.  The party served with such a notice is compelled by the legislation to then remove the allegedly infringing material from the website, and serve notice of the takedown on the party that posted the content.  Unless the allegedly infringing party serves a counter-notice, the content will remain removed from the website.  If a counter-notice is served, the content will be re-posted to the website within ten days, unless the copyright owner begins a court action and provides notice of the same to the website host/ISP. The DMCA takedown system is weighted very heavily in favour of copyright owners – it creates an onus of action on the part of the content poster to assert that they have some right to use the allegedly infringing content.  It also creates some privacy concerns; in order to file a counter-notice, the allegedly infringing party must provide their full personal details – name, address, email, telephone etc.  There have been many examples of DMCA takedown notices being used offensively in an attempt to quell free speech or adverse commentary, or to simple harass and threaten. The Canadian approach is markedly different from that of our US counterparts.  Pursuant to the changes made to the Copyright Act, Canada has implemented what is commonly called the “Notice and Notice” system.  A copyright owner who believes that their protected works are being infringed on the internet is required to serve a notice on the website host / ISP of the alleged infringer.  The website host/ISP is then compelled to serve that notice on the allegedly infringing party.  There is no onus on the website host/ISP to remove allegedly infringing content.  There is also no onus on the allegedly infringing party to do anything in response to receiving such a notice.  The copyright owner never receives the allegedly infringing party’s personal information.  If the copyright owner wants to pursue an action against the alleged infringer, they must apply to the courts for an order to have the website host/ISP release the information of the alleged infringer so that they know who to sue.  This creates a cost for the copyright owner that not many will be willing to bear.  In order to receive an award of damages, the copyright owner must also be successful in a claim against the alleged infringer, representing even further costs.  At minimum, the costs of these two proceedings will be in excess of $20,000.00. In addition, the Copyright Act has lessened the statutory damages that a copyright owner can pursue against an individual for non-commercial infringement – capped at $5,000.00 for ALL infringements.  Of course, the copyright owner could still pursue non-statutory damages, but the chances of receiving any more than the statutory cap are very slim. The end result of the enactment of this section of the Copyright Act is that it will not be financially worthwhile for copyright owners to pursue non-commercial infringements against individuals.  The costs to pursue the same will far outweigh any monetary award that the copyright owner can expect to receive.   About McKercher LLP: McKercher LLP is one of Saskatchewan’s oldest, largest law firms with offices in Saskatoon and Regina. Our deep roots and client-first philosophy have made us a top ranked firm by Canadian Lawyer magazine (2011, 2013). Expertise, experience and capacity provide innovative solutions for our clients’ diverse legal issues and complex business transactions.