GoldTV Will Serve as a ‘Test Case’ for IPTV Blocking in Canada

• Bell Media and Rogers Media ready to test the willingness of ISPs to block an IPTV service website.
• This will reportedly take place next month, following a relevant order by the Federal Court.
• Some internet service providers may object the order, and this could cause problems for the copyright holders.

Bell and Rogers have submitted a lawsuit against GoldTV, which is considered by legal insiders to be a “test case” for pirate site blocking in the country, and especially pirate IPTV providers. Already, Bell and Rogers, two large broadcasting and communication entities in Canada have obtained an interim injunction against GoldTV, and will soon request a court to move forward with the site blocking. The last time Rogers Media and Bell Media collaborated in the legal space, they managed to take down SOLO IPTV, WaveTVBox, Infinity TV, ITVbox.net, MTLFreeTV, and many other pirating TV box sellers.

Canadian broadcasters have repeatedly asked the government to create pirate blocking agencies, criminalize piracy, and stop illegal streaming in every way possible, but so far, they have had mixed responses to these suggestions. Either due to a lack of jurisdiction or due to the asymmetric extent of the proposed response to copyright infringement offenses, many of the Bell and Rogers requests have been rebuffed by the authorities. However, this hasn’t stopped the broadcasters from trying to establish a beneficial environment for themselves, mainly by lobbying during the formulation procedures for Canada’s new Copyright Act.

Right now, GoldTV is forbidden from continuing their operation, including the promotion of their services. However, the website of the IPTV provider is up and running in the time of writing this, so it looks like the Federal Court injunction hasn’t affected the GoldTV owners so far. Moreover, it is apparent that they don’t feel they’re infringing any copyrights through their website anyway, as their disclaimer clearly points out that all laws are adhered to, no content is hosted or archived there, and they merely act as an advertising agency for others who wish to offer their services to the people.

With the website continuing to promote GoldTV IPTV services, Bell and Rogers will ask the court to issue an order to ISPs Bell Media, Eastlink, Cogeco, Fido, Shaw Communications, TekSavvy Solutions, Telus Corp. and Videotron, so virtually all internet providers in Canada will be called to block the GoldTV website. The reason why this is considered a “test case” for pirate IPTV blocks in Canada is that the number of the ISP providers who may object to this order is currently unknown. Rumors claim that Tech savvy could oppose such an order, and this would cause disruption and possibly massive migration of subscribers to them. That said, this will be a market test as well, as there are business strategy elements involved in the decision of each ISP’s stance on the matter. Still, many of the ISPs are owned by the copyright holders who are driving this case, and this is worth noting.

Do you believe that Canada will soon be IPTV-free, or is this just another attempt to hit the whac-a-mole? Share your thoughts in the comments down below, or join the discussion on our socials, on Facebook and Twitter.