Persistent and Unsanctioned Infringements of Copyright Laws

Tracking Down Stolen Content: A Tug-of-War Between Creators and Piracy Sites

Charlotte Poitras' Frustrating Battle against Porn Sites

It's a never-ending battle for artists and producers, especially when it comes to pirated videos. Artists like Charlotte Poitras have learned the hard way that Canadian legislation lacks bite. A new law focused on the sharing of intimate images may potentially tilt the scales in their favor.

Charlotte's repeated attempts to have her content removed from adult sites have fallen on deaf ears. One website even had the audacity to ask for new exclusive pictures in exchange for removing the old ones, she narrates.

For this report, we requested Charlotte to write to two pornographic sites asking for the removal of her photos and videos. Surprisingly, one complied quickly while the other has yet to respond several weeks after the request.

The platform assures "[celebrities]" on their contact page that they will promptly take down unauthorized content. Yet, an agent representing popular actresses tells us she has tried every means possible to communicate with the email addresses of these sites, even going as far as speaking to a police investigator and sending a cease and desist letter, all to no avail.

As one anxious agent puts it, "You take down one site and seven more appear. It's a major problem and we're extremely powerless."

Potential Ammunition Against Piracy Platforms

A new Quebec law on the non-consensual sharing of intimate images could provide artists with the tools they need to combat piracy platforms believes Pierre Trudel, a jurist and full professor at the Centre de recherche en droit public at the University of Montreal.

Adopted last November, Bill 73 provides an expedited process to prevent or stop the sharing of nude images. Violators face maximum fines of $50,000 per day and imprisonment. The initiative also facilitates civil lawsuits to compensate for damages suffered.

To succeed, the plaintiff must "reasonably expect that their privacy would be protected, whether in the circumstances of the creation, capture, or recording of the image, or, if applicable, those in which it is shared." Furthermore, consent cannot be withdrawn "in the context of a commercial or artistic contract."

According to Mr. Trudel, these conditions are easily met by actresses whose nude bodies are appropriated by pornographic sites. "We check all the boxes that are in the law," he says.

Yet, it remains to be seen whether the new law applies to the examples presented in this report. Neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Quebec Bar Association wanted to comment. We will have to wait for the interpretation of the courts.

In terms of copyright, both Canada and the United States offer protection to content hosts like YouTube and Pornhub, ensuring "net neutrality." However, the respect of laws falls on users who upload images and videos.

In the United States, intermediaries are required to offer an option to report and remove content in the event of copyright infringement. This provision is absent from Canadian law.

In Quebec, hosts can be held responsible if they are aware of an illicit activity and do not promptly address it. However, it is difficult to enforce against sites located in foreign jurisdictions with often compliant legislations, say three lawyers consulted by La Presse.

A Proactive Approach by Producers

Former actress Charlotte Poitras wishes film production companies, who hold the copyrights, would be more proactive in cataloging stolen scenes and requesting their removal.

In cases where content ends up on YouTube or a streaming site, rights holders rush to have it taken down. It's not their fault if porn sites steal their images, they are not responsible, but it's the producers who have the power to act.

Some do. The producers of Normal People, a series broadcast by Hulu and the BBC, for example, managed to have a 22-minute montage taken down from Pornhub. Clips quickly spread to other platforms.

The AQPM assures that they act each time the Union of Artists (UDA) brings a member's complaint to their attention. Yet, according to President and CEO Hélène Messier, Canadian copyright law lacks teeth, with damages "not very dissuasive."

In 2018, the AQPM advocated alongside creators, broadcasters, and producers for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to have the power to block sites "manifestly, obviously, or structurally involved in copyright piracy." "It would be much more useful and dissuasive than simply having content removed, as it would cut off all advertising revenue," explains Messier.

The CRTC, however, ruled that it did not have the competence to impose such a regime.

"Asking for the removal of images is like a drop in the bucket. Legally, it needs to become punitive enough for people to stop [piracy]," emphasizes actress Tania Kontoyanni.

A Mysterious Alliance between the Adult Film Industry and Porn Sites?

In an effort to shed light on internet users' eagerness to track nudity, Charlotte Poitras recalls discovering images of her naked body from a short artisanal film on a pornographic site even before the work was presented to the public. She suspects a member of the production team shared the password-protected Vimeo link. The "butt and breasts" scene, as identified by a site, was viewed more than the short film itself. In the United States, the film industry is said to directly feed certain XXX platforms. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jim McBride, founder of a popular aggregator of nudity scenes, claimed that more than 75 American studios, including Universal and Fox, sent him material regularly for advertising purposes. Some sites' upload pages are even specifically addressed to producers. Our interviewees agree that Quebec is spared from this large-scale practice.

The recent Quebec law addressing the non-consensual sharing of intimate images does not directly apply to the removal of pirated content from adult websites for artists and producers. However, it contributes to a legal environment that emphasizes consent and privacy, which indirectly influences practices related to content sharing and intellectual property rights. For artists and producers, existing copyright laws and mechanisms for reporting and removing pirated content remain the primary tools for addressing unauthorized use of their work.

Source: La Presse, March 31, 2021

Insights Gleaned from Enrichment Data:

The new Quebec law on non-consensual sharing of intimate images primarily protects individuals from such acts rather than directly impacting the removal of pirated content from adult websites.
The law could, however, indirectly influence broader discussions about consent and intellectual property rights, potentially encouraging more proactive measures.
The lack of teeth in Canadian copyright laws and the difficulty in enforcing against sites located in foreign jurisdictions with compliant legislations pose significant challenges in combating copyright infringement and unauthorized content distribution.
Existing copyright laws and mechanisms remain the primary means by which artists and producers can address unauthorized use of their work.

Artists and producers continue to struggle against pirated content in the realm of arts and entertainment, especially when it comes to adult sites. Despite efforts to have contents removed, some sites have demonstrated a lack of compliance, even going as far as requesting new exclusive materials in exchange for the removal of old content.

The recent Quebec law on the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, while not directly applying to the removal of pirated content from adult websites, could indirectly influence practices related to content sharing and intellectual property rights, potentially encouraging more proactive measures. However, the effectiveness of this law in addressing the issue remains to be seen, as interpretations from the courts are awaited.