AFACT to appeal iiNet decision

[admin]

The Australia Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) will appeal the decision of the iiNet case in which the judge ruled that iiNet cannot be held responsible for acts of piracy committed by its customers.

The AFACT had until today to appeal, and as expected, they lodged the appeal in the Federal Court in Sydney this morning.

iiNet's CEO, Michael Malone is disappointed in the AFACT's decision. "It is more than disappointing and frustrating that the studios have chosen this unproductive path ... This legal case has not stopped one illegal download and further legal appeals will not stop piracy," he said in a statement.

More:

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/movie-studios-appeal-iinet-piracy-ruling-20100225-p4vx.html

[admin]

iiNet wins again!! AFACT has lost their appeal against the Federal court decision which said that iiNet was not responsible for the actions of its subscribers. This is a landmark decision that will have repercussions all around the world, and deals a serious blow to the entertainment lobby's attempts to get ISPs to police Internet downloads.

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/iinet-again-slays-hollywood-in-landmark-piracy-case-20110224-1b6a1.html

[admin]

Upon close examination, the appeals verdict has many things in it that the AFACT actually likes, since iiNet's appeal win was more on technical issues (like the precise format of infringement notices). The AFACT may not even appeal, considering that this verdict may pave the way to allow movie studios to foce ISPs to disconnect users (as this was one of the actions that the court found acceptable, in combating online piracy):

http://www.itnews.com.au/News/249230,iitrial-a-green-light-to-disconnect-pirates.aspx