Canadian court deals setback to record labels

A Canadian appeals court has rebuffed an attempt by the recording industry to unmask 29 people accused of unlawfully sharing thousands of music files. The Federal Court of Appeal on Thursday upheld a lower court's ruling that said privacy rights must supercede the record labels' copyright claims, at least in "the early stages of this case." In a 27-page opinion, the appeals court stressed that "technology must not be allowed to obliterate" intellectual property rights, but "the potential for unwarranted intrusion into individual personal lives is now unparalleled." The ruling is hardly the end of the matter. Instead, it effectively lays out what kind of legal standard the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) must meet in future lawsuits against accused peer-to-peer pirates.

full