Today iiNet won a copyright battle in the High Court when an appeal by film and television companies in a copyright case was dismissed.
The case was lead by a group of 34 international and Australian companies, including Warner Bros, Disney and the Seven Network. The group alleged iiNet had authorised the infringement of their copyright when it failed to issue warnings and suspend or terminate the accounts of customers that had infringed copyright laws. The earlier ruling which was upheld today by the High Court found that iiNet had no direct technical power to prevent its customers from using the BitTorrent file sharing system to infringe copyright.
In response to the ruling The Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA|AMCOS) has said that it is extremely disappointed with today's High Court decision in the case, which leaves songwriters, composers and music publishers in the unacceptable situation of remaining exposed to illegal online file-sharing.
APRA|AMCOS CEO Brett Cottle said that today's announcement was not the one that content creators were expecting, and that it was vital to find a way to protect the rights of music creators in order to secure a vibrant and sustainable future for the Australian music industry.
"Songwriters, composers and music publishers invest considerable time and resources in creating their product and are entitled to have their legitimate rights protected in the online market," Mr Cottle said.
"Legislators, regulators and courts around the world have recognised that ISPs must play a central role in preventing online copyright theft.
"We aren't seeking anything from the ISPs which they haven't already agreed with their own customers via their contract terms and conditions," Mr Cottle said.
Mr Cottle said that while today puts an end to the legal process, the focus is now on achieving a commercial and/or legislative solution to the illegal file-sharing of copyright material such as films, music, games, software and visual arts.
"APRA|AMCOS, together with other content industries, is very keen to work with ISPs, consumer groups and the Government to create a flexible industry-led code of practice which includes an educational campaign and encourages good behaviour as well as incorporating reasonable measures to curb illegal file-sharing," Mr Cottle said.
APRA|AMCOS is a member of the Australia Content Industry Group (ACIG), a body representing online content providers across music, book publishing, games and software and the visual arts.
