The Federal Court in Bell Media Inc. v. Marshall Macciacchera (Smoothstreams.tv), 2025 FC 1378 imposed significant jail time for two defendants found guilty of contempt of court in a copyright infringement action.

In the underlying action, the defendants were accused of copyright infringement through the operation of unauthorized streaming services. Both were found guilty of contempt for disobeying certain provisions of an interim order (which included an Anton Piller order) permitting the search, seizure and preservation of evidence and equipment relating to the streaming services and requiring the disclosure of information about their finances and other assets.

The Court sentenced the two defendants to initial periods of incarceration of four and six months, respectively. Further, both will be imprisoned for a total period of up to five years less one day or until they cure their ongoing contempt, whichever comes first.

Beyond the serious penalties imposed by the Court, this decision may signal that the Federal Court will be taking a less lenient approach to “contemptuous” copyright infringers going forward.

The Court noted specifically that “it appears that some copyright pirates make calculated decisions to breach court orders… [and] even brazenly continue their contemptuous actions after being found in contempt. In the face of such defiance of its orders, it behooves the Court to impose penalties designed to maximize the potential for instilling respect for its orders and the rule of law”.

The Court, referencing other decisions, further noted that “[i]t is important to dispel the notion that this Court, the go-to forum for intellectual property litigation, is more lenient than provincial superior courts” and that “[t]he Federal Court should not be a safe haven for persons in contempt”.

The full decision is available here.