Canada’s new copyright law is actually fair and reasonable

Following years of debates and discussions, the Canadian government has decided to implement a new copyright law that, for once, isn’t a draconian legal weapon for the government and patent holders to censor the internet or place harsh penalties on citizens. It essentially protects ISPs and VPN providers with solid protection from copyright holder lawsuits and, by extension, protects their customers as well. 

After years of public and private discussions, Canada started implementing a new copyright law in recent years. The law introduced great improvements in terms of fair use and non-commercial file-sharing, and also adopts a “notice-and-notice” policy for ISPs that goes into effect today, January 2nd. Under the new law Internet providers are required to forward copyright notices they receive from rightsholders to their customers. Providers who do not comply, including VPN services, face damages up to $10,000. The notice scheme creates a safe harbor for Internet providers, protecting them from copyright holder lawsuits. For Internet subscribers the effects are limited to warnings, which is less draconian than the “strikes” systems other countries have implemented.