The court refuses to force Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to hand over customer names to CRIA in response to a complaint. The CRIA accused 29 P2P users (using the Morpheus and Grokster software) of sharing copyrighted files, but failed to provide enough substance to their allegations for the court to allow the privacy of the users to be violated. Ottawa Justice Konrad von Finckenstein ruled that companies seeking to violate the privacy of ISP users must have more sustantial evidence of wrong doing than was presented. 

The Court affirmed that downloading a song for personal use does not amount to infringement under Canadian copyright law.  Judge von Finckenstein ruled that setting up the facilities that allow copying does not amount to authorizing infringement.  "I cannot see a real difference between a library that places a photocopy machine in a room full of copyrighted material and a computer user that places a personal copy on a shared directory linked to a P2P service.  In either case the preconditions to copying and infringement are set up but the element of authorization is missing."  Under Canadian copyright law, "the mere fact of placing a copy on a shared directory in a computer where that copy can be accessed via a P2P service does not amount to distribution," Justice von Finckenstein explained.  See also Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic legal filing that urges the court to protect the privacy rights of consumers and argues that file-sharing is not copyright infringement.  And see the legal filing from Electronic Frontier Canada that argues for protection of consumers' privacy and due process rights in the face of recording industry allegations.

In response to Judge von Finckenstein's ruling, the Canadian Heritage and Industry Ministries announced plans to draft an amendment to Canada's copyright act that would make P2P file-sharing illegal.  Canadian Heritage Minister Helene Scherrer has stated that her agency "will make it a priority so it is done as quickly as possible."  Legal Expert Howard Knopf of the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Internet Clinic severely criticized Minister Scherrer's stance: "It strikes me that the minister's first job is to defend the interests of the public and not the music industry.  It's a multibillion-dollar industry and hardly needs assistance."  See Keith Damsell, "Minister vows to fight music file swapping," The Globe and Mail (CA), 13 April 2004, page B5.