What is streaming and why is it considered a grey area?


This is a common topic that gets brought up from customers and I am always a little reluctant to answer it. Streaming in Canada is considered a grey area for a number of reasons, however in recent years there has been a push from big media companies to start going after streamers. So what is streaming? very good question! Streaming is essentially when an end-user (yourself) is watching content that is hosted from a provider. The provider could be anyone from Netflix, YouTube, Hulu or third party applications. Now this is very different from downloading online, When we download content (shows, movies…ect) the material itself is physically in our possession. Thus, if we did not pay for it through correct channels it is an easy copyright case.


This is where the grey area is created, the material is never actually in the end-users possession. It creates a dynamic between content creators and users in a battle of online rights to view material that is accessible online, where the end-user should be able to view whatever they so choose and the content creator wants to maximize income. This can be said for a lot of different countries, however each nation has their own copyright laws to take a deeper dive into. Throughout the rest of this article I will be talking about a few things,
1) What do the copyright laws in Canada say?
2) What is being done by content creators to stop streams?
3) What is Upgrade Guys opinion on the future of streaming?


What do the copyright laws in Canada say about streaming material?


If you want to read up on the laws themselves you can click here to be brought to the official Canada copyright law. As you read through this, keep in mind I am not a lawyer nor do I have any legal experience. Everything I say will not be the deciding answer to if streaming is legal or illegal in Canada or other countries.
According to article 27 (1) in the copyright act states: It is an infringement of copyright for any person to do, without the consent of the owner of the copyright, anything that by this Act only the owner of the copyright has the right to do.


This includes the following actions:
(2) It is an infringement of copyright for any person to
(a) sell or rent out,
(b) distribute to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright,
(c) by way of trade distribute, expose or offer for sale or rental, or exhibit in public,
(d) possess for the purpose of doing anything referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c), or
(e) import into Canada for the purpose of doing anything referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c),

That Is where things get tricky as the consumer, you never actually possess a copy of the material. If you are a seller of android boxes this would be the same idea, You are never assisting with someone to watch copyright material. Going through the Canadian laws I cannot say for certain that end-users are violating anything. However that may not stop groups of content creators from taking sellers, end-users and others to court, trying to get compensation for their perceived “loss”.


Did you know that your location can be tracked while streaming? Although streaming may very well be legal there are still instances of letters being sent out regarding watching shows and movies online. That is why at Upgrade Guy we always suggest using a VPN. We strongly suggest Pure VPN If you would like to sign up for it click here to be brought to a huge discount. You can also check out the video below for more information on what a VPN is.

https://youtu.be/IBSNy05FlzQ
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