The High Court of Australia has today, Friday 20 April 2012, handed down its decision in Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Limited [2012] HCA 16.

In previous eAlerts! we reported that iiNet was successful both at trial and on appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia. iiNet has continued its winning streak with all five High Court judges finding in its favour.

At issue in the High Court appeal was the question of whether iiNet "authorised" the copyright infringement of its customers who used a BitTorrent system to unlawfully download copyright films and television programs (by failing to take steps to stop the infringing conduct).

In short, the High Court held that:

  • the extent of iiNet's power to prevent the copyright infringement of its customers was limited to terminating the contractual relationship between them
  • the information contained in the notices it received from copyright owners (AFACT notices) alleging copyright infringement did not provide iiNet with a reasonable basis for sending warning notices to individual customers threatening suspension or termination
  • iiNet's inactivity after receipt of the AFACT notices did not give rise to an inference of authorisation (by countenancing or otherwise) of any act of infringement by its customers.

Three of the five High Court judges further concluded that the concept and principles of "authorisation" of copyright infringement are not readily suited to enforcing rights of copyright owners in respect of widespread infringements occasioned by peer-to-peer file sharing.

Implications

The likely effect of this decision is that the film studios' recourse to the courts will be limited to pursuing the primary infringers and not the internet service providers. The decision may also serve to put pressure on both government and industry to find a negotiated solution to the problems faced by the film studios.

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