James Riley
Thursday, 04 February 2010 14:14
IT Policy -
Government Tech Policy
Page 1 of 2
The ruling in favour of the ISP iiNet in its long running court battle with Hollywood movie studios presents a whole new set of issues for Government on how to provide adequate protection for intellectual property in the emerging digital economy.
And equally fascinating, the ruling adds yet more colour and movement to one of the industry's great feuds: The apparent antipathy that exists between iiNet managing director Michael Malone and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has been a slow burning fuse.
At a CommDay telecommunications conference last April, Senator Conroy controversially attacked the iiNet defence in its case with the studios saying it "belongs in a Yes Minister episode." He was openly critical of iiNet’s plan to say it simply did not know that its users were breaching others' copyright.
The comments drew immediate criticism from shadow Attorney-General George Brandis and former communications shadow Nick Minchin, with both calling the remarks reckless and grossly improper given the was a case before the courts.
And Malone threatened to sue the Minister.
Personal antagonism aside, Senator Conroy's comments did seem to reveal which way he thought the case was going to go. That is, internet service providers had something beyond a duty of care to ensure their users were not stealing the copyrighted materials of others.
