A court case late last year showed that Canadian courts are now willing to act against online piracy, according to Elizabeth Valentina, vice president, content protection litigation at Fox Entertainment Group.
Speaking to WIPR at the AIPPI World IP Congress in Toronto yesterday (September 16), Valentina said the passing of the Copyright Modernization Act in Canada in June 2012 had resulted in a victory for Fox late last year against a man offering every episode of The Simpsons television show online without permission.
“We succeeded in obtaining an injunction and a $10 million damages award plus $500,000 in punitive damages plus our legal fees,” she said.
“Obviously, we won’t collect on that but it set a precedent because it confirmed that online piracy constitutes copyright infringement in Canada.
“The conclusion here is that we’re hopeful that Canadian courts can help us enforce our rights in Canada and curb online piracy.
“It was a welcome decision by the court and shows that the Canadian courts are now willing to enforce the law on online piracy,” Valentina said.
The conference finishes today (September 17).
Canada; Fox; piracy; copyright; AIPPI 2014
