A REPORT from CTV says that a group representing Canada’s songwriters will
ask the Supreme Court to rule that Internet Service Providers also pay them
royalties in regard to music file downloads, regardless of whether the ISP is
transmitting legally or illegally downloaded music. This is on top of a levy on
blank recording media that Canadians now pay.
President of the Ottawa-based Canadian Association of Internet Providers
(CAIP), Jay Thomson said “We’ve always taken the position that we are the
conduits of other people’s content. We simply provide the network over which
other people communicate with each other. It’s the people who are doing the
communicating who should be responsible for that content.”
The songwriters’ group begs to differ arguing that by their action of caching
files the ISP’s are taking an active part in the download process and should
thus be held partly responsible.
Apparently annual revenues of several million dollars are at stake here, not
to mention the precedent it might set for other countries, especially those of
the British Commonwealth.
Related
- ISPs Found Not Liable for Customer’s Infringement
- ISPs could be forced to police user behavior in Europe
- Canadian ISP’s would be forced to become Net spies, if new plan goes through
- Music groups to sue ISPs over piracy
- (UK) Music industry demands the right to sue ISPs
