Copyright Enfingement

BMG Canada Inc. v. John Doe

There are reasonable grounds on which to prove that copyright infringement did occur. An infringement of a copyright is defined as "the reproduction, distribution, performance, or display of any copyrighted work without permission of the copyright owner or without a compulsory license." The copyrighted material was used in a manner that violates the copyright owner's exclusive rights. The Canadian Copyright Act of 1985 states that "only the copyright owner(s) have the exclusive rights to reproduce or make copies of the copyrighted material, and only the copyright owner(s) have the exclusive rights to distribute copies of the copyrighted material to the public." The acts of downloading and file swapping clearly violate the copyright laws, as those persons sharing the files are unlawfully making unauthorized copies of the copyrighted material without the permission of the owner(s) and without paying for the use of the material. When prosecuting the offence of copyright infringement as a strict liability tort or crime, the plaintiff must only prove that the act of copying, or actus reus, was committed by the defendant. Subsequently, there need not be any proof of mens rea. Mistake of fact is not a defense for the unlawful downloading