Complaining about Copyright Infringement in Canada?
3 posts • Page 1 of 1
Complaining about Copyright Infringement in Canada?
by banys » Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:01 am
I am a photographer from New York, USA, and one of my published, copyrighted photos has been downloaded from my website, altered to remove my name, then put on a Canadian website, without crediting me. Actually that person claimed they took the photo. I have contacted the internet provider of the website to please remove my photo, and they pretty much told me "oh well too bad" since USA Copyright Laws don't apply there. Normally I would file an electronic DMCA complaint against United States based websites, and my material would be removed within a few days without any problems. Is there something I can do with this Canadian place? You will also be helping about 25 other people besides me, since a number of us found out via an online photo group about our stuff being taken. Thank you.
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Complaining about Copyright Infringement in Canada?
by iomar » Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:04 am
An internet service provider isn't going to take your word for it nor shut someones web-site down without a court order.
I would:
1. Make copies of his site, take screen shots, note dates, etc. Ensure you have his name, business name, address, etc. Find others who he has used their copyrighted materials. Get them to do these steps also.
2. Contact him (via registered mail) listing with a standard cease and desist demand. Assuming he doesn't take down the material. (Letters from five or six people would obviously carry a lot more weight).
3. File a DMCA notice against him in the United States.
4. Contact the RCMPs Intellectual Property Crime division. Look at their web-site and include all the necessary information. Include all your information and a copy of your US DMCA notice. The RCMP may be busy, but if you make their case for them, it could be a quick call on their behalf which gets the material removed. Having five or six people each contact them would likely make it more of a priority.
5. Sue them in the United States. It might be hard to proof damages, but merely filing a lawsuit in the US will cause them more than enough aggravation. While not necessarily enforceable, even a small claims lawsuit can be annoying for a Canadian -- not showing up to court repeatedly may get warrants or a default judgement issued against them and effectively prevents them entry into the United States.
6. If you win a court case, hire a collections agency in Canada.
7. Sue them in Canada. For small claims, you need to file in their province and it might be expensive to make the trip, but merely filing the case will likely get them to quickly remove the materials. Again, showing damages may be difficult. If another person they have taken copyrighted material from is in Canada or closer to them, it might be easier for them to sue.
I would:
1. Make copies of his site, take screen shots, note dates, etc. Ensure you have his name, business name, address, etc. Find others who he has used their copyrighted materials. Get them to do these steps also.
2. Contact him (via registered mail) listing with a standard cease and desist demand. Assuming he doesn't take down the material. (Letters from five or six people would obviously carry a lot more weight).
3. File a DMCA notice against him in the United States.
4. Contact the RCMPs Intellectual Property Crime division. Look at their web-site and include all the necessary information. Include all your information and a copy of your US DMCA notice. The RCMP may be busy, but if you make their case for them, it could be a quick call on their behalf which gets the material removed. Having five or six people each contact them would likely make it more of a priority.
5. Sue them in the United States. It might be hard to proof damages, but merely filing a lawsuit in the US will cause them more than enough aggravation. While not necessarily enforceable, even a small claims lawsuit can be annoying for a Canadian -- not showing up to court repeatedly may get warrants or a default judgement issued against them and effectively prevents them entry into the United States.
6. If you win a court case, hire a collections agency in Canada.
7. Sue them in Canada. For small claims, you need to file in their province and it might be expensive to make the trip, but merely filing the case will likely get them to quickly remove the materials. Again, showing damages may be difficult. If another person they have taken copyrighted material from is in Canada or closer to them, it might be easier for them to sue.
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Complaining about Copyright Infringement in Canada?
by adalwine » Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:10 am
"oh well too bad"...
That would be "hilarious" if it weren't so durned sad for them, as they are about to lose a lot of money.
Apparently they don't realize that the US law DOES apply to them, as the online publishers of materials copyrighted in the USA. But more to the point, Canadian law also protects copyright regardless of where the author lives or where the initial publication took place (one nice thing about the Bern Convention). The part of the US law they're missing is that the ISPs in the USA have DMCA is a DEFENSE that they simply don't have in Canada (or most other places). They are "contributory infringers" of each and every copyright infringement posted on their websites by users. Unlike the USA, web hosts are required to carefully monitor anything posted on their websites, due to their own liability.
Sue the website, sue the users who put up the violations. File a criminal copyright complaint in the USA against the website provider who is "willfully infringing copyright for commercial advantage", which is a federal felony under US law. Canada has NEVER turned down any extradition request for criminals indicted in the USA. You can even register the copyright in the US Copyright Office and then sue in US federal court for statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each foto.
If your barristers in Canada believe the defendants may have other valid defenses, they will let you know.
Add: BTW, there is no "small claims" jurisdiction for copyright -- it is exclusively in US district court.
That would be "hilarious" if it weren't so durned sad for them, as they are about to lose a lot of money.
Apparently they don't realize that the US law DOES apply to them, as the online publishers of materials copyrighted in the USA. But more to the point, Canadian law also protects copyright regardless of where the author lives or where the initial publication took place (one nice thing about the Bern Convention). The part of the US law they're missing is that the ISPs in the USA have DMCA is a DEFENSE that they simply don't have in Canada (or most other places). They are "contributory infringers" of each and every copyright infringement posted on their websites by users. Unlike the USA, web hosts are required to carefully monitor anything posted on their websites, due to their own liability.
Sue the website, sue the users who put up the violations. File a criminal copyright complaint in the USA against the website provider who is "willfully infringing copyright for commercial advantage", which is a federal felony under US law. Canada has NEVER turned down any extradition request for criminals indicted in the USA. You can even register the copyright in the US Copyright Office and then sue in US federal court for statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each foto.
If your barristers in Canada believe the defendants may have other valid defenses, they will let you know.
Add: BTW, there is no "small claims" jurisdiction for copyright -- it is exclusively in US district court.
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