Violation of privacy actionable

1   (1) It is a tort, actionable without proof of damage, for a person, wilfully and without a claim of right, to violate the privacy of another.

(2) The nature and degree of privacy to which a person is entitled in a situation or in relation to a matter is that which is reasonable in the circumstances, giving due regard to the lawful interests of others.

(3) In determining whether the act or conduct of a person is a violation of another's privacy, regard must be given to the nature, incidence and occasion of the act or conduct and to any domestic or other relationship between the parties.

(4) Without limiting subsections (1) to (3), privacy may be violated by eavesdropping or surveillance, whether or not accomplished by trespass.

Exceptions

2   (1) In this section:

"court" includes a person authorized by law to administer an oath for taking evidence when acting for the purpose for which the person is authorized to take evidence;

"crime" includes an offence against a law of British Columbia.

(2) An act or conduct is not a violation of privacy if any of the following applies:

(a) it is consented to by some person entitled to consent;

(b) the act or conduct was incidental to the exercise of a lawful right of defence of person or property;

(c) the act or conduct was authorized or required under a law in force in British Columbia, by a court or by any process of a court;

(d) the act or conduct was that of

(i) a peace officer acting in the course of the peace officer's duty to prevent, discover or investigate crime or to discover or apprehend the perpetrators of a crime, or

(ii) a public officer engaged in an investigation in the course of the public officer's duty under a law in force in British Columbia,

and was neither disproportionate to the gravity of the crime or matter subject to investigation nor committed in the course of a trespass.

(3) A publication of a matter is not a violation of privacy if

(a) the matter published was of public interest or was fair comment on a matter of public interest, or

(b) the publication was privileged in accordance with the rules of law relating to defamation.

(4) Subsection (3) does not extend to any other act or conduct by which the matter published was obtained if that other act or conduct was itself a violation of privacy.

Unauthorized use of name or portrait of another

3   (1) In this section, "portrait" means a likeness, still or moving, and includes

(a) a likeness of another deliberately disguised to resemble the plaintiff, and

(b) a caricature.

(2) It is a tort, actionable without proof of damage, for a person to use the name or portrait of another for the purpose of advertising or promoting the sale of, or other trading in, property or services, unless that other, or a person entitled to consent on the other's behalf, consents to the use for that purpose.

(3) A person is not liable to another for the use for the purposes stated in subsection (2) of a name identical with, or so similar as to be capable of being mistaken for, that of the other, unless the court is satisfied that

(a) the defendant specifically intended to refer to the plaintiff or to exploit the plaintiff's name or reputation, or

(b) either on the same occasion or on some other occasion in the course of a program of advertisement or promotion, the name was connected, expressly or impliedly, with other material or details sufficient to distinguish the plaintiff, to the public at large or to the members of the community in which the plaintiff lives or works, from others of the same name.

(4) A person is not liable to another for the use, for the purposes stated in subsection (2), of the other's portrait in a picture of a group or gathering, unless the plaintiff is

(a) identified by name or description, or the plaintiff's presence is emphasized, whether by the composition of the picture or otherwise, or

(b) recognizable, and the defendant, by using the picture, intended to exploit the plaintiff's name or reputation.

(5) Without prejudice to the requirements of any other case, in order to render another liable for using the plaintiff's name or portrait for the purposes of advertising or promoting the sale of

(a) a newspaper or other publication, or the services of a broadcasting undertaking, the plaintiff must establish that the plaintiff's name or portrait was used specifically in connection with material relating to the readership, circulation or other qualities of the newspaper or other publication, or to the audience, services or other qualities of the broadcasting undertaking, as the case may be, and

(b) goods or services on account of the use of the name or portrait of the other in a radio or television program relating to current or historical events or affairs, or other matters of public interest, that is sponsored or promoted by or on behalf of the makers, distributors, vendors or suppliers of the goods or services, the plaintiff must establish that the plaintiff's name or portrait was used specifically in connection with material relating to the goods or services, or to their manufacturers, distributors, vendors or suppliers.

Action to be determined in Supreme Court

4   Despite anything contained in another Act, an action under this Act must be heard and determined by the Supreme Court.

Action does not survive death

5   An action or right of action for a violation of privacy or for the unauthorized use of the name or portrait of another for the purposes stated in this Act is extinguished by the death of the person whose privacy is alleged to have been violated or whose name or portrait is alleged to have been used without authority.