Free speech vs. copyright

Photo: Contributed

A legal fight between Internet giant Google and a British Columbia technology company unfolds today in the Supreme Court of Canada, where they will duel over competing free speech and copyright infringement issues.

At issue is whether Canadian courts have the jurisdiction to make sweeping orders to block access to content on the Internet beyond Canada's borders.

Google is challenging a 2015 ruling by the B.C. Court of Appeal that ordered it to stop indexing or referencing websites linked to a company called Datalink Technologies Gateways.

The B.C. appeal court granted that injunction at the request of Equustek Solutions Inc., which won a judgment against Datalink for essentially stealing, copying and reselling industrial network interface hardware that it created.

Equustek wanted to stop Datalink from selling the hardware through various websites and turned to Google to shut down references to them.

Initially, Google removed more than 300 URLs from search results on Google.ca, but more kept popping up, so Equustek sought — and won — the broader injunction that ordered Google to impose a worldwide ban.

Google fought back against the "worldwide order" arguing that Canadian courts don't have the legal authority to impose such an injunction.

Its written argument to the Supreme Court calls the injunction "an improper and unprecedented extension of Canadian jurisprudence."

Equustek's lawyers argue in their written submission that there is no issue of freedom of expression at play in the case. The only purpose of the offending websites "is to generate profit for the outlaw Datalink defendants and their collaborators by selling illegal products in violation of multiple court orders."

The company's lawyers say their clients created "complex industrial equipment."

"The defendants are not selling counterfeit handbags or watches on street corners," they argue.

"If the court is powerless to act in the face of this kind of conduct, then we no longer live in a world ruled by law."

Google lawyer David Price said if his client loses, it could lead to a proliferation of removal orders across the globe.