Service overview
As an Internet Service Provider, McGill University is required to comply with copyright infringement responsibilities as per Canada’s Copyright Act (Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42). When we receive a claim regarding the illegal downloading or sharing of copyright-protected material (such as movies or music) using the McGill network, McGill is legally obligated to forward the claim to the individual associated with the IP address indicated in the infringement notice, as well as send a confirmation back to the copyright holder.
The Copyright Infringement Notification System (CINS) is an automated system that:
- Receives copyright infringement claims by email from copyright holders or agencies representing them.
- Verifies basic formatting and digital signature to ensure the claim comes from an authorized copyright holder and contains the required information (i.e., title of the downloaded material, date and time of the alleged infringement, and IP address in use).
- Forwards the claim. The system attempts to associate a McGill user with the IP address identified in the claim. If a user is identified, the claim is forwarded to the user, with a standard introduction describing what it is.
- Notifies the copyright holder that either the claim was successfully forwarded or no user could be associated with the IP address.
- Retains all records for six months. If legal proceedings are started, the records are retained for one year.
See the FAQs on McGill's Copyright Infringement Notification System
Who can use it
To fulfill its legal obligations, McGill provides this service to copyright holders who post digital content online. The primary users of this system are the copyright holders who wish to submit copyright infringement claims that have occurred through the McGill network.
McGill network users who download copyright-protected Internet files may receive copyright infringement notices from the system.
How to request & access the service
McGill users will only receive copyright infringement notifications via email. They do not require access to CINS.
Copyright holders can submit a digital copyright infringement claim by following these steps:
- Send your claim by email to copyright-infringement.acns@mcgill.ca. Ensure your claim meets the following requirements:
- Encoded with either of the following computer-readable XML-encoding standards for copyright infringement notices:
- ACNS 2.0 Notice and Message Specification, using any of the latest versions of the XML schema (v1.0, v1.1, v1.2, v1.3).
- CANACNS specification (Canadian version of the specification)
- The XML content must be complete and contain valid data.
- ACNS 2.0 Notice and Message Specification, using any of the latest versions of the XML schema (v1.0, v1.1, v1.2, v1.3).
- Signed with a valid PGP signature.For information on obtaining free, open-source software to digitally sign your infringement claim, see the GNU Privacy Guard website at https://www.gnupg.org.
- The FROM field of your email must include a valid email address.
- The entire content of the claim must be included within the body of the email, not as an attachment. The system will reject email attachments.
The system will validate the format of your submitted claim and send you a reply message. If your claim meets the requirements, you will be given a McGill Claim ID number, which you must enter into the CINS system to continue processing.
- Enter your McGill Claim ID into the CINS system and submit it for processing. The email you received in Step 1 will provide detailed instructions.
Cost
There is no cost associated with this service.
Availability
This service is available 24 X 7, except during scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. Check the System Status page for announcements regarding service interruptions.
If the service is down temporarily, incoming claims will still be received and queued, but processing them will be delayed.
Frequently Asked Questions
See the FAQs on the IT Services website.
What to do if you receive a copyright infringement notice
If you receive a copyright infringement notice:
- Do not panic or click on any links within the notice.
- Do not attempt to contact the copyright holder. McGill has not given them your name or any other identifying information about you, so they likely do not know your identity.
- If you have downloaded content illegally from the Internet, delete the content and refrain from downloading or sharing copyright-protected material in the future.
See the FAQs on McGill's Copyright Infringement Notification System.
Training & documentation
No training on the system is needed.
For information about Canada's Copyright Act, visit the Notice and Notice Regime on the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada website.
Support
All information needed is provided at FAQs on McGill's Copyright Infringement Notification System.