iiNet Beats Movie Industry in Landmark Piracy Case

Common sense has prevailed in Australia's landmark piracy case, with iiNet coming out victorious against the film industry.

The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft, on behalf of a number of Hollywood movie studios, claimed that iiNet, Australia's 3rd largest ISP, should have done more to stop its users downloading pirated content. Had they been successful, it would have forced ISPs to begin policing Internet users in Australia on an unprecedented level.

"It is impossible to conclude that iiNet has authorised copyright infringement... (it) did not have relevant power to prevent infringements occurring," Federal Court judge Justice Dennis Cowdroy concluded.

iiNet welcomed the verdict saying "This case has been important, not just for iiNet, but the entire internet industry. We do not, and never have supported, encouraged or authorised illegal sharing or downloading of files in breach of the copyright laws." The fact that they advise users against pirating content, and have to work with privacy laws prohibiting them delving too deep into their users activities meant that they were never really in too much trouble.

AFACT have been slugged with the court costs and are not happy with the outcome. They will take time to review the decision and are considering appealing the verdict.

News Article by: ICC_06 15945Kudos 04/02/2010

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