Voltage Pictures, LLC et al. v. John Doe #1 et al, 2017 FCA 97
Justice Stratas; Justice Gleason; Justice Woods - 2017-05-09
Read full decision. Automatically generated summary:
The plaintiff movie producers have launched a proposed reverse class action for copyright infringement but require subscriber identification information from ISPs pursuant to sections 41.25 to 41.27 of the Copyright Act. Rogers was prepared to disclose it, but only if the appellants paid a fee. The appellants contested the fee, alleging that the legislative regime precluded Rogers from charging anything and that in any event it was far too high and, thus, unreasonable. The Federal Court agreed with Rogers (see 2016 FC 881). After analyzing the sections of the Copyright Act, the Court of Appeal concluded that, "Under subsection 41.26(2), the responsible Minister, the Minister of Industry, may, by regulation, fix the maximum fee that an internet service provider like Rogers can charge for performing the subsection 41.26(1) obligations. But if no maximum fee is fixed by regulation, the internet service provider may not charge anything for performing the subsection 41.26(1) obligations." The appeal was allowed and the appellants awarded costs.
Decision relates to:
- A-278-16 - VOLTAGE PICTURES, LLC ET AL v. JOHN DOE #1 ET AL which is an appeal from 2016 FC 881 in T-662-16