SwitchSelect

IINet, Australia's third-largest Internet service provider won the copyright infringement case filed by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) representing a group of Hollywood movie producers together with the Seven Network.  

The case was lodged last year against the Perth-based ISP network. AFACT claimed that iiNet did not act to prevent its subscribers from downloading and sharing copyright content through BitTorrent.

Court hearings of the case ended in November 2009.

In his verdict, Justice Cowdroy recognized that there was infringement of the Hollywood studios’ copyrights but ruled that iiNet could not be considered responsible because it did not authorize its subscribers to commit the illegal acts. 

Justice Cowdroy noted iiNet’s lack of control or relevant power over BitTorrent networks. He added that the ISP was operating under “safe harbor” provisions of the law. 

AFACT had been adamant during the court hearing that iiNet should issue to its customers copyright infringement warnings on its behalf. However, the judge’s decision stated that this was not the way to handle copyright infringement cases. 

Pirate Party Australia hailed the decision that was called an “application of common sense” by Electronic Frontiers Australia.

IINet said that it is willing to work with the entertainment producer industry to find ways to make content legally available in order to reduce illegal file-sharing.

Shares of iiNet Ltd have rose after it the case was decided in its favour. The company was said to have spent over $4 million for its defense. 

Part of the decision was for AFACT to pay all of iiNet’s legal costs. 

The disappointed AFACT group did not confirm if they will appeal the Court’s landmark decision.