Volume II

Issue : 2: January 22, 2004

• U.S. Court of Appeals Finds Trade-mark Rights May Limit "Keyed" Internet Searches
• Canadian Race Track First to Offer Online Gambling
• Microsoft Still on the Hook in EOLAS Patent Battle
• USPTO Releases List of Top Ten Patent Recipients for 2003
• U.S. Court of Appeals Rules that "Lawoffices" is Not Entitled to Trademark Protection
• VoIP: Level 3 Files Petition Seeking Exemption - FCC Chair Opposes Application of Existing Regulation - FBI Seeks Ability to Intercept Conversions - Bangladesh Telecom Breaks Law
• Canadian Firm Required to Pay Redress for Misleading Domain Name Marketing
• Copyright Ruling Appealed by Industry Groups - CRIA Launching Lawsuits Against File Swappers
• US-Court-of-Appeals-Dismisses-Honeywells-Attempt-to-Utilize-Trademark-Protection-in-Expired-Patent-Case
• Canadian Consumer Ministers Approve E-Commerce Code

Home > Volume II > Issue 2: January 22, 2004 > Copyright Ruling Appealed by Industry Groups - CRIA Launching Lawsuits Against File Swappers

Copyright Ruling Appealed by Industry Groups - CRIA Launching Lawsuits Against File Swappers

The Copyright Board of Canada (the "Board") issued a ruling on December 12, 2003 which imposes a levy of up to $25.00 on non-removable memory permanently embedded in digital audio recorders (such as MP3 players). Industry groups representing retailers, electronics manufacturers and music companies launched separate court appeals to overturn the ruling of the Board, saying that the added levy raises the prices of their products and may incite the creation of a cross-border grey market for the affected media.

As part of the same ruling, the Board also denied the Canadian Private Copying Collective's ("CPCC") request to establish a levy on blank DVD's, removable memory cards and removable micro hard drives. The CPCC is the organization which collects the levies from manufacturers and importers of blank audio media according to a tariff schedule and then distributes the amounts to eligible authors, performers and producers of recorded musical works copied by individuals for personal use in Canada.

When the private copying levies were first implemented in 2000, the CPCC introduced a "zero-rating" program under which manufacturers and importers of blank audio recording media were permitted to sell such media levy free to certain parties such as religious organizations, law enforcement and schools. In the ruling, the Board wrote that "the question is not whether or not the zero-rating is desirable, but whether or not the board, or CPCC, is legally authorized to initiate such a program".

On a related but separate issue, the Canadian Recording Industry Association ("CRIA") intends to launch lawsuits against 40 Canadian digital music swappers, targeted through their IP addresses. The lawsuits are part of an attempt by the music industry to crack down on free downloading of copyrighted music by way of MP3 music files. Similar crack-downs in the United States have produced the desired effects and music downloading is being reduced. Sharing of free music in Canada is said to have resulted in a decline of CD sales of approximately $450 million, or 23% since 1999.

For a full copy of the Copyright Board of Canada ruling, visit:
http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/decisions/c12122003-b.pdf