Source:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...ol=968793972154

quote:

Feb. 13, 2004. 06:18 AM Music industry hunting Canadian 'pirates' Ready to launch dozens of lawsuits Internet providers await court orders TYLER HAMILTON TECHNOLOGY REPORTER Canada's recording industry is poised to launch dozens of lawsuits against Internet users who share copyrighted music through "music swapping" networks such as Kazaa. The lawsuits will target high-volume music traders — people who store several thousand MP3 song files on their computers and make them available through the Internet for others to download. Bell Canada, Rogers Cable, Telus Corp. and Shaw Communications Inc. are among major Internet service providers being told to expect federal court orders early next week that would require them to identify Internet subscribers who are allegedly pirating this music. The Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) represents major record labels such as Universal Music Canada and EMI Music Canada. It sent a "notice of motion" to high-speed Internet providers Wednesday afternoon to warn the orders will be requested Monday in Federal Court. The Star has learned that at least 20 individuals are being pursued, though the recording industry has previously said it would go after 30 to 40 individuals. Nine customers of Rogers Cable have been targeted. Seven customers at Bell Sympatico are affected, as well as three at Telus, which is based in Burnaby, B.C. High-speed cable subscribers with Calgary-based Shaw Communications Inc. have also been targeted. Shaw did not say how many of its customers were affected, but was the only company yesterday to declare it would go to Federal Court to fight for customer privacy. "We believe this application amounts to a civil search warrant, and we do not think that the music companies' application should override our responsibility in law to protect the rights of our customers to maintain their privacy," chief executive Jim Shaw said in a statement. "We intend to ask the court to preserve the privacy of our customers." David Bennett, director of marketing for Rogers Hi-Speed Internet, said his company has "some concerns" about the terms of the motion. Telus said it would be seeking an adjournment so its customers have more time to respond. Bell Canada was less committal. "We're not going to share our strategy at this time," spokesperson Don Blair said. "We're still evaluating our options." All four companies said they were making every effort to inform the subscribers involved. The recording association would not comment yesterday on the coming lawsuits. It began warning people last fall, and again in December, that legal action against hundreds of Internet music swappers in the United States would be followed by similar action in Canada. Since September, the Recording Industry Association of America has sued nearly 400 alleged music-swappers and threatened thousands more. A grandfather who rarely used his computer and a 12-year-old girl were among those caught in the U.S. organization's dragnet. Brian Robertson, president of the recording industry association, said this week that his organization has spent the past three months gathering evidence on individuals who have more than 3,000 copyrighted songs in their computers. "These are not casual users," said Robertson, adding that the industry is focusing on "egregious" uploaders. "Litigation appears to be the only option now. ... This is the first of what we think will be more than one wave." Using sophisticated Internet surveillance technology, the association has tracked computers — identified online through their Internet protocol or "IP" addresses — that are actively trading copyrighted songs. The next step is to match those IP addresses with subscriber information so the alleged pirates can be identified CRIA needs a court order because Internet service providers generally don't hand over this data freely. Critics of the music industry say record labels will not gain sympathy by suing their own customers. "Real live kids and their families should not become collateral damage in test cases where the law is uncertain and the industry is desperately seeking scapegoats," said Howard Knopf, an intellectual property lawyer in Ottawa. Additional articles by Tyler Hamilton

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