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iiNet case won’t fix filesharing: expert
The Federal Government should not rely on legal action by the Australian
Federation Against Copyright Theft to resolve the issue of who should police
unauthorised file sharing, RMIT University General Counsel, John Lambrick, says.
Thirty-four parties, including Australian and US film studios and the Seven
Network, this week began their case in the Federal Court against iiNet for failing to
prevent the repeat copyright infringement of its customers.
“If iiNet successfully defends the proceedings, significant copyright breaches
through peer-to-peer filesharing will continue,” Mr Lambrick said.
“On the other hand, if AFACT succeeds in its claim and is awarded damages, other
ISPs fearful of litigation may be pressured into terminating customer accounts,
sometimes without justification and without any independent appeal mechanism.
“Neither outcome will protect the rights of both copyright holders and ISPs.
“The Federal Government must act now to address the issue of who is responsible
for policing unauthorised filesharing and provide a workable solution.”
Mr Lambrick said Britain and France have brokered co-operative arrangements
between ISPs and rights holders to address the problem.
“But these arrangements have not been particularly successful because of the
competing business interests of ISPs and rights holders,” he said.
“The Federal Government should not wait for a verdict in the AFACT legal action to
provide a ‘resolution’ to the problem.
“Regardless of the outcome of the case, the Federal Government should take
action to legislate an effective solution that will facilitate downloader accountability
and protect ISPs and other providers of communications infrastructure from
liability.
Mr Lambrick is available for interview on the Australian Federation Against
Copyright Theft’s Federal Court action against iiNET.
For interviews: RMIT University’s General Counsel, John Lambrick, (03) 9925
3522 or 0418 310 813.
For general media enquiries: RMIT University Communications, Gosia
Kaszubska, (03) 9925 3176 or 0417 510 735.
8 October, 2009
NEWS 
