Notice and Notice

Canadian Copyright Act

The Copyright Act's "Notice and Notice" provisions came into force on January 2, 2015.

What is Notice and Notice?

Notice and Notice is a provision in the Copyright Act that is "designed to notify users of alleged copyright infringement taking place at their internet address... [It] will require Internet intermediaries, such as ISPs and website hosts, to take certain actions upon receiving a notice of alleged infringement from a copyright owner. Specifically, ISPs and hosts are required to forward notices, sent by copyright owners, to users whose Internet address has been identified as being the source of possible infringement. The intermediary must also inform the copyright owner once the notice has been sent." (Government of Canada: Archived - Notice and Notice Regime)

What does this mean at UVic?

• Under the Copyright Act, UVic is considered to be a digital network provider and therefore must forward infringement notices it receives.
• UVic faculty members, students and staff who are content owners and believe that their material has been copied illegally, now have the means to communicate with the person who made the copy, as the first step to enforcing their copyright.
• The University will not disclose the identity of the user to the content owner, unless required to do so by a court order or legal process.
• UVic does not evaluate the legitimacyof the notice it receives, but will forward the notice as required by law.

The Notice and Notice system does not in any way change the existing laws that govern the use of copyrighted mateirals. For more information on your rights and obligations under the law visit library.uvic.ca/featured/copyright.

If you have any question about Notice and Notice, please see Industry Canada's website. Read this commentary to learn more about Notice and Notice and what to consider if you receive a copyright infringement notice.

(Adapted from Copyright at UBC)