Australian film companies ramp up piracy battle

A group of Australian film companies have ramped up their fight against copyright theft after filing a Federal Court appeal against internet service provider (ISP), iiNet.

Earlier this month, the 34 companies – under the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) umbrella – failed in their previous attempt to hold iiNet responsible for illegal file-sharing. They have now appealed saying that it is not reflective of Australia’s copyright law.

Neil Gane, executive director of AFACT, said the judgement created an unworkable situation for content creators and providers.

He said: “The court found large scale copyright infringements, that iiNet knew were occurring, that iiNet had the contractual and technical capacity to stop and yet iiNet did nothing about them. In line with previous case law, this would have amounted to authorisation of copyright infringement.

“This decision allows iiNet to pay lip service to provisions that were designed to encourage ISPs to prevent copyright infringements in return for the safety the law provided. If this decision stands, the ISPs have all the protection without any of the responsibility.”

The judgement was made on February 4 this year. The notice of appeal, which contains 15 points for new case, is likely to be heard later this year.