Case information
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41026
Voltage Holdings, LLC v. Doe #1, et al.
(Federal) (Civil) (By Leave)
(Publication ban in case) (Sealing order) (Certain information not available to the public)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
v.
Counsel
Party: Voltage Holdings, LLC
Counsel
Lawrence Veregin
181 Bay Street, Suite 1800
P.O. Box 754
Toronto, Ontario
M5J 2T9
Telephone: (416) 863-1500
FAX: (416) 863-1515
Email: kclark@airdberlis.com
Party: Doe #1
This party is not represented by counsel.
Party: Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic
Counsel
57 Louis Pasteur Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 6N5
Telephone: (613) 562-5800 Ext: 2558
FAX: (613) 562-5417
Email: dfewer@uottawa.ca
Summary
Keywords
Intellectual property — Copyright — Infringement — Notice and notice regime — Default defendants not participating in litigation — Burden of proof — Adverse inference — Unchallenged evidentiary record — Default judgment denied due to insufficiency of evidence — What is a copyright owner’s evidentiary burden in default judgment of anonymous online infringement? — Can a subscriber be liable for authorizing infringement with notice of the infringement?
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
(PUBLICATION BAN IN CASE)
The applicant movie production company, Voltage Holdings, LLC, alleges that a mass group of internet subscribers used or authorized for use the BitTorrent peer-to-peer network to unlawfully make its science-fiction film, Revolt (the “Work”), available for distribution. Voltage sought default judgment against thirty unnamed internet subscribers (or the “respondents”), as well as statutory damages and costs from each. Voltage was unsuccessful before the Federal Court, which determined that it had not provided sufficient evidence to establish that the respondents either were the direct infringers themselves, or possessed sufficient control over those who posted the Work to have authorized the infringement. The appeal was dismissed for similar reasons. The Federal Court of Appeal concluded that a mere association with an offending IP address does not show on a balance of probabilities that the corresponding internet subscriber shared copyrighted material online.
Lower court rulings
Motion for default judgment dismissed
Appeal dismissed
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filing out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
Factums on appeal
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-07-09 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2024-06-27 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2024-06-27 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2024-06-27 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal, Number A-129-22, 2023 FCA 194, dated September 27, 2023, is dismissed. Dismissed |
|
| 2024-06-07 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B, (Printed version due on 2024-06-14) | Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic |
| 2024-06-07 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A, (Printed version due on 2024-06-14) | Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic |
| 2024-06-07 | Notice of name, (Letter Form), (Printed version due on 2024-06-14) | Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic |
| 2024-05-06 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2024-03-15 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Book Form), Amended version required. (Rec'd 2024-03-15), Completed on: 2024-03-18, (Printed version due on 2024-03-22) | Voltage Holdings, LLC |
| 2024-03-06 |
Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Memorandum of Arguments; Missing Form 23A and Notice of Name, Completed on: 2024-05-06 |
Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic |
| 2024-02-05 | Order on motion to add or substitute parties, By JUSTICE JAMAL | |
| 2024-02-05 |
Decision on motion to add or substitute parties, Ja, UPON APPLICATION by the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic for an order to be added as a respondent in the application for leave to appeal pursuant to Rules 18(5) and 47 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada; AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: The motion is granted. The Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic is hereby added as a respondent in the proceedings before the Court pursuant to Rule 18(1) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada and the style of cause shall be modified to reflect this change. The respondent shall serve and file its 20 page response to the application for leave to appeal within thirty (30) days from the date of this order. Granted |
|
| 2024-02-05 | Submission of motion to add or substitute parties, Ja | |
| 2024-01-12 | Response to motion to add or substitute parties, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2024-01-15, (Printed version due on 2024-01-19) | Voltage Holdings, LLC |
| 2023-12-22 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), 23A | Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic |
| 2023-12-22 | Motion to add or substitute parties, (Book Form), To be added as a respondent, Completed on: 2023-12-28, (Printed version filed on 2024-01-03) | Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic |
| 2023-12-06 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED 2023-12-06 | |
| 2023-11-24 | Notice of name, (Letter Form), (Printed version due on 2023-12-01) | Voltage Holdings, LLC |
| 2023-11-24 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23B, (Printed version filed on 2023-11-24) | Voltage Holdings, LLC |
| 2023-11-24 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A, (Printed version filed on 2023-11-24) | Voltage Holdings, LLC |
| 2023-11-24 | Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2023-11-24, (Printed version filed on 2023-11-24) | Voltage Holdings, LLC |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Voltage Holdings, LLC | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Doe #1 | Respondent | Active |
| Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Voltage Holdings, LLC
Counsel
Lawrence Veregin
181 Bay Street, Suite 1800
P.O. Box 754
Toronto, Ontario
M5J 2T9
Telephone: (416) 863-1500
FAX: (416) 863-1515
Email: kclark@airdberlis.com
Party: Doe #1
This party is not represented by counsel.
Party: Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic
Counsel
57 Louis Pasteur Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 6N5
Telephone: (613) 562-5800 Ext: 2558
FAX: (613) 562-5417
Email: dfewer@uottawa.ca
Summary
Keywords
Intellectual property — Copyright — Infringement — Notice and notice regime — Default defendants not participating in litigation — Burden of proof — Adverse inference — Unchallenged evidentiary record — Default judgment denied due to insufficiency of evidence — What is a copyright owner’s evidentiary burden in default judgment of anonymous online infringement? — Can a subscriber be liable for authorizing infringement with notice of the infringement?
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
(PUBLICATION BAN IN CASE)
The applicant movie production company, Voltage Holdings, LLC, alleges that a mass group of internet subscribers used or authorized for use the BitTorrent peer-to-peer network to unlawfully make its science-fiction film, Revolt (the “Work”), available for distribution. Voltage sought default judgment against thirty unnamed internet subscribers (or the “respondents”), as well as statutory damages and costs from each. Voltage was unsuccessful before the Federal Court, which determined that it had not provided sufficient evidence to establish that the respondents either were the direct infringers themselves, or possessed sufficient control over those who posted the Work to have authorized the infringement. The appeal was dismissed for similar reasons. The Federal Court of Appeal concluded that a mere association with an offending IP address does not show on a balance of probabilities that the corresponding internet subscriber shared copyrighted material online.
Lower court rulings
Motion for default judgment dismissed
Appeal dismissed
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filing out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
Factums on appeal
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available