News: ISP Trumps Hollywood in Copyright Case

A landmark decision by the Australian Federal Court is likely to shake up online copyright laws the world over, with the major film studios losing a case against local internet service provider, iiNet.

The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), a consortium which includes Village Roadshow, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20^th Century Fox, Disney and the Seven Network, claimed iiNet was authorising its users to illegally download movies via BitTorrent.

Justice Dennis Cowdrey found that although the ISP was aware of the downloading habits and did nothing to stop them, iiNet was not liable for the downloading habits of its customers.

As it’s the first ruling of its kind anywhere in the world, the case attracted widespread attention internationally, and was the first Australian court case to be followed on Twitter.

AFACT said the decision was a setback for the 50,000 Australians employed by the film industry, and is considering whether it will appeal.