Canada will have a “notice and notice” regime for online copyright infringement from January 2015.

The government announcement calls the regime a “made-in-Canada solution”. It formalises a voluntary system that some copyright owners and Internet service providers (ISPs) have already adopted.

Smart and Biggar report that when an ISP or host receives proper notice of copyright infringement from a copyright owner, it must forward the notice as soon as feasible to the customers associated with the content – hence the description of a “notice and notice” regime. The ISP or host must inform the copyright owner once the notice has been forwarded and retain a record of the notice for six months, or one year if the copyright owner commences a court proceeding.

ISPs or hosts that fail to comply are subject to statutory damages of at least C$5,000, but no more than C$10,000.