Photo Credit: Jason Hafso
The Federal Court in Ottawa has issued Canada’s first music industry-requested site-blocking order targeting YouTube stream-ripping services.
The major labels have secured a major win in Canada against the operators of YouTube stream-ripping sites Y2Mate, YTMP3, and remaining Savefrom domains over copyright infringement.
The original case, filed in November by Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group, targeted the John Doe operators of these sites and has culminated in an order being issued in Ottawa’s Federal Court.
The permanent injunction requires the site’s operators to cease infringing activities and to deactivate their domains. The order also requires that nine major Canadian internet service providers (ISPs), including Bell, Rogers, and Teksavvy, use DNS blocking or rerouting to block the specified domains for a period of two years. ISPs must also put up a notification for visitors of the domains explaining why they are no longer accessible.
While the original iterations of the stream-ripping sites have actually long been shuttered or otherwise made unavailable to Canadians, the current versions gain less traffic—which has enabled them to stay undetected longer.
The framework outlined in the Canadian government’s order allows rights holders to quickly add new or growing clone sites to the block list without initiating a new and separate hearing. Rights holders can simply file an affidavit identifying the new offending domain and confirming that it meets the conditions outlined in the order.
If none of the nine ISPs object to the addition within ten business days, the court can expand the block list without further proceedings. If an ISP pushes back, only then will a full additional hearing be required.
That’s huge for record labels, which can now proactively move against stream-ripping sites rather than reactively once a new copycat gains traction.
Similar action has already been effective in battling piracy throughout Europe, as well as in the UK, Australia, Brazil, and other countries. But it’s the first time Canada has taken legal action against stream-ripping sites on behalf of the music industry.
