A group of entertainment companies have lodged an appeal against a Federal Court judgement earlier this month which decided ISP iiNet was not liable for the copyright infringements of its users.
The appeal, which comes on the last possible day, is based on 15 different grounds with the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft claiming the original ruling was out of step with current copyright law.
AFACT, which represents over 30 major entertainment companies including Paramount, Roadshow, Disney and 20th Century Fox, said in a statement the ruling by Judge Cowdroy “left an unworkable online environment for content creators and content providers”.
AFACT alleges iiNet is responsible for the copyright infringements occurring on its network, with some of its users taking advantage of BitTorrent technology to download pirates television shows and films.
“The court found large scale copyright infringements, that iiNet knew they were occurring, that iiNet had the contractual and technical capacity to stop them and iiNet did nothing about them,” AFACT executive director Neil Gane said in a statement.
“By allowing internet companies like iiNet to turn a blind eye to copyright theft, the decision harms not just the studios that produce and distribute movies, but also Australia’s creative community and all those whose livelihoods depend on a vibrant entertainment industry.”
But iiNet said in a statement of its own the appeal will not stop illegal downloading, with managing director Michael Malone saying more legal proceedings were not a solution.
“It is more than disappointing and frustrating that the studios have chosen this unproductive path,” he said. “This legal case has not stopped one illegal download and further legal appeals will not stop piracy. The studios themselves admitted during the court hearings that making content freely and cheaply available online was an effective way to combat piracy.”
Cowdroy found that just because iiNet provided the networks used by content infringements, it did not mean the ISP was liable for those infringements or responsible for policing those involved.
Additionally, Malone pointed out the company is currently in negotiations with several content providers to allow iiNet users to download material from its official “Freezone”.
“A more effective approach would be for the studios to make their content more readily and cheaply available online,” he said, noting company figures which show more than 27TB of content had been downloaded from the Freezone between May 2009 and January 2010.”
The two parties are expected to appear before court today for a hearing regarding the payment of legal costs.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
