Requirements for valid copyright infringement notices
Recently we examined some of the first copyright infringement notices sent by Orcon and noticed that they did not comply with the regulations.
The omissions are significant and make it harder for the accounts holder to challenge the notice on the facts, but we believe there are excellent grounds for challenging the notice because the notice itself is invalid. The rights holders may or may not accept this but ultimately it will be up to the Copyright Tribunal to make the final decision.
Notice Requirements
So, what are the requirements for a valid infringement notice? They're spelt out in two places - the Copyright Act (mainly section 122) and the associated Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Regulations. We'll only be looking at the requirements for the notices from the ISP (internet service provider) to the account holder (the person paying for the internet connection).
A detection notice must include:
Send us your copyright infringement notices!
September 1st is the start of the new copyright regime, where rights-holders can send infringment notices to people they accuse of infringing their copyright.
We would like copies of those notices. This will allow us to help monitor how the law is being used, including:
- assessing the quality of the notices
- finding out who is sending them and for what sort of works
- help us detect anyone abusing the system
Please email your notices to notices@techliberty.org.nz. Feel free to include other information including whether you deny the allegation or not. We promise to keep your name and other identifying details private.
