iiNet decision settles copyright stoush - for now

Mark Vincent
Thursday, 04 February 2010 18:00

Your IT - Home IT

Internet service providers are not the copyright industries’ policemen – a fact made plain by Justice Cowdroy’s decision handed down in the Federal Court today.

The decision in Roadshow Films v iiNet which found that iiNet had not authorised copyright infringement, nor was it required to act against users of its services who had infringed copyright, should not have been a surprise to anyone.

Just as Australia Post cannot be held responsible if people post drugs, or send contraband material through its postal network, so ISPs cannot be held responsible for how their customers use the internet. It would be a different situation if post offices sold “drug envelopes” or ISPs marketed “pirated films”, but clearly they don’t.

The decision today makes it clear that iiNet had not authorised copyright infringement, had not monitored its network for infringement, and when told that infringement had occurred did not believe it was its role to verify such allegations and take action against alleged infringers. Justice Cowdroy acknowledged and accepted that approach in his judgment.

The result is quite predictable given the facts of the case.

Given this anticipated result, why did the copyright owners – in this case the major Hollywood studios, under the banner of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) - bother to pursue this action?

Because it is part of a long campaign that copyright owners have been waging around the world to tackle online piracy; they worry that their revenues will be eroded and their future threatened if the issue is not tackled.