How to handle copyright claims in Canadian e-commerce

Copyright disputes are common in Canadian online commerce, but not every dispute needs to start in court. Evidence preser­va­tion, platform reporting tools and cease-and-desist letters can help resolve claims. Canada’s Copyright Act provides its own rights, ex­cep­tions and remedies: U.S. DMCA pro­ce­dures are not a sub­sti­tute for the Canadian legal framework.

Key Takeaways ⓘ

• Preserve the disputed content, dates, com­mu­ni­ca­tions and proof of ownership.
• Canada’s Notice and Notice regime forwards al­le­ga­tions; it is not an automatic takedown procedure.
• A cease-and-desist letter is not a court order, but existing copyright oblig­a­tions still apply.
• Canadian statutory damages dis­tin­guish com­mer­cial from non-com­mer­cial in­fringe­ment and are stated in Canadian dollars.
• Review platform pro­ce­dures, Canadian ex­cep­tions and cross-border issues before acting.

Doc­u­ment­ing and pre­serv­ing evidence

Before taking action, gather and preserve evidence of the alleged in­fringe­ment and your ownership or authority to act. Capture complete screen­shots, URLs and time­stamps, and keep original files, licences and com­mu­ni­ca­tions. These records support platform reports, demand letters and any later pro­ceed­ings. Preserve the material before re­quest­ing removal, since online content can change quickly.

Notice and Notice and platform reporting in Canada

Canada’s Notice and Notice regime, under sections 41.25 and 41.26 of the Copyright Act, is different from the U.S. DMCA notice-and-takedown system. It requires certain in­ter­me­di­aries, such as internet service providers, to forward qual­i­fy­ing notices of claimed in­fringe­ment to sub­scribers and retain specified records. A forwarded al­le­ga­tion does not establish in­fringe­ment and does not, by itself, require automatic content removal.

A qual­i­fy­ing notice iden­ti­fies the claimant and their address, the relevant work, the claimant’s interest or rights, the location data for the alleged in­fringe­ment, the alleged act and its date and time. Notices under this regime must not contain set­tle­ment offers, requests or demands for payment or personal in­for­ma­tion, or ref­er­ences to those offers or demands. These re­stric­tions apply to the statutory regime; they do not mean that every sep­a­rate­ly sent legal demand is pro­hib­it­ed.

According to the Gov­ern­ment of Canada’s consumer guidance, receiving a forwarded notice does not require the sub­scriber to contact the copyright owner or in­ter­me­di­ary. Review the al­le­ga­tion and secure your account, but do not assume you must pay a demand simply because it appears in a notice.

For material hosted on a website, mar­ket­place or social network, check the service’s copyright reporting rules. Some platforms operate U.S. DMCA pro­ce­dures that may be relevant to material you post, but this does not turn Canadian law into a DMCA system. Assess which law and process govern the par­tic­u­lar claim.

Before reporting material, check ownership, licences and Canadian ex­cep­tions. Fair dealing applies only to specified purposes and requires a fairness as­sess­ment; it is not identical to U.S. fair use. At­tri­bu­tion alone does not authorise copying protected product pho­tographs or original text.

Cease-and-desist letters

A cease-and-desist letter, also called a demand letter, describes the sender’s rights, the disputed conduct and the remedy requested. It can propose removal, a licence, payment or a ne­go­ti­at­ed set­tle­ment. It is not a court order and does not establish liability. Unlike a notice forwarded through Notice and Notice, a separate demand letter may include set­tle­ment proposals; its merits and any payment request still need to be assessed.

Explain the alleged in­fringe­ment clearly, identify the relevant work and specific URLs, and provide a rea­son­able requested response period. Support any financial demand with a legal basis and cal­cu­la­tion. Use a doc­u­ment­ed delivery method and avoid un­sup­port­ed threats. A lawyer can check whether the sender owns or controls the rights and whether the claim is pro­por­tion­ate.

Court remedies for copyright in­fringe­ment

Copyright pro­tec­tion in Canada generally arises au­to­mat­i­cal­ly when the statutory re­quire­ments are met. Reg­is­tra­tion with the Canadian In­tel­lec­tu­al Property Office is not a general pre­req­ui­site to an in­fringe­ment lawsuit. It can provide ev­i­den­tiary benefits, but it does not con­clu­sive­ly establish every issue of ownership or validity. Do not import the U.S. rules on reg­is­tra­tion and el­i­gi­bil­i­ty for damages into a Canadian claim.

Depending on ju­ris­dic­tion and the relief requested, pro­ceed­ings may be brought in the Federal Court or an ap­pro­pri­ate provin­cial court. Available civil remedies can include an in­junc­tion, damages and an ac­count­ing of at­trib­ut­able profits, subject to the Act and the facts. Lit­i­ga­tion carries costs and ev­i­den­tiary risks.

Under section 38.1, a claimant may elect statutory damages instead of the damages and profits under section 35(1). The usual ranges are CAD 500–20,000 per work for com­mer­cial in­fringe­ment, and CAD 100–5,000 for all works involved in the pro­ceed­ings for non-com­mer­cial in­fringe­ment. The dis­tinc­tion is important for online busi­ness­es. Courts have dis­cre­tion, and re­duc­tions, ex­clu­sions and other special rules can apply: these are not automatic fines payable on receipt of a letter.

Under section 43.1, the lim­i­ta­tion period generally runs for three years from when the claimant knew, or could rea­son­ably have been expected to know, of the relevant act. Obtain advice on how the rule applies to par­tic­u­lar acts and remedies; ne­go­ti­a­tions should not be assumed to stop the clock.

I’ve taken action, so what’s next?

A private demand letter has no universal Canadian statutory response period. A requested date, such as one or two weeks, can provide a ne­go­ti­a­tion window, but it is not per­mis­sion to continue in­fring­ing. Court documents and platform pro­ce­dures may have separate deadlines.

If you receive a response

The recipient may remove the material, explain their licence or exception, or propose different terms. Check whether the alleged in­fringe­ment has actually stopped and whether claims about past losses remain. A written set­tle­ment should define the content, oblig­a­tions, payments and claims resolved. Do not assume that removal alone settles the entire dispute.

If you receive no response

Consider a follow-up, further in­ves­ti­ga­tion or legal pro­ceed­ings. Silence does not au­to­mat­i­cal­ly prove in­fringe­ment. If you seek an in­junc­tion or com­pen­sa­tion, assess the evidence, court ju­ris­dic­tion and lim­i­ta­tion period with counsel. The U.S. Copyright Claims Board is not a Canadian domestic dispute forum.

What should I do if I receive a warning?

Check whether you have received a forwarded Notice and Notice al­le­ga­tion, a platform notice, a private demand or a court document. Verify the sender, the content involved, the claimed ownership and any licence or exception that may cover your use. Preserve evidence before changing or deleting material.

• Correct a valid problem: remove or replace material where ap­pro­pri­ate, without assuming this resolves earlier liability.
• Ask for details: request the relevant work, URLs, evidence of rights and the basis of any damages cal­cu­la­tion.
• Negotiate: consider a licence or pro­por­tion­ate set­tle­ment when suitable.
• Dispute an unfounded claim: explain the factual or legal basis, prefer­ably after obtaining advice.
• Observe actual pro­ce­dur­al deadlines: a court claim must not be treated like optional private cor­re­spon­dence.

Under Notice and Notice, sub­scribers are not obliged merely by the forwarded notice to respond or disclose personal details to the claimant. That does not eliminate liability for actual in­fringe­ment or the need to respond ap­pro­pri­ate­ly to legal pro­ceed­ings. Platform takedowns and counter-notices may have their own re­quire­ments; read the ap­plic­a­ble policy rather than importing a universal U.S. timetable.

Privacy and harmful content: separate issues

Copyright reporting is not the only concern for online platforms. Non-con­sen­su­al intimate imagery, im­per­son­ation and deepfakes can raise criminal, privacy and other civil issues in Canada. Consider the ap­plic­a­ble federal and provin­cial rules and the platform’s reporting channels.

The U.S. TAKE IT DOWN Act is not a general Canadian 48-hour removal rule. It may be relevant when a service or activity falls within U.S. coverage, but Canadian busi­ness­es should assess that sep­a­rate­ly. Cross-border sales or use of an in­ter­na­tion­al platform can create oblig­a­tions in more than one ju­ris­dic­tion.

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Best practices for e-commerce sellers and platforms

• Keep records of original works, ownership, licences and permitted uses.
• Consider Canadian reg­is­tra­tion for its ev­i­den­tiary benefits, not as a mandatory gateway to pro­tec­tion.
• Dis­tin­guish statutory Notice and Notice al­le­ga­tions from host reporting tools and private demands.
• Review Canadian fair dealing and other ex­cep­tions before asserting in­fringe­ment.
• Obtain advice early for urgent, high-value or cross-border disputes.

AI-generated content and copyright

Gen­er­a­tive AI does not remove the need to check third-party rights. Review tool terms, input materials and generated results for copied ex­pres­sion, mis­lead­ing branding and privacy issues. Keep records of your checks. Decisions in U.S. or UK lit­i­ga­tion should not be presented as au­to­mat­i­cal­ly de­ter­min­ing Canadian law, and an AI provider’s terms do not guarantee that every output is lawful.

Pro­tect­ing copyright in online commerce

Effective pro­tec­tion combines evidence, a sound un­der­stand­ing of Canadian law and pro­por­tion­ate action. Notice and Notice, platform reporting, demand letters and court remedies have different purposes; choosing the right route helps avoid un­nec­es­sary expense and mis­lead­ing claims.

For busi­ness­es selling across borders, check the legal framework and service pro­ce­dures relevant to each dispute. Clear licences, doc­u­ment­ed content checks and timely pro­fes­sion­al advice can reduce both in­fringe­ment risks and the cost of re­spond­ing to al­le­ga­tions.

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