A group of film studios suing Australian internet service provider iiNet for making copyrighted material available to internet users has dropped part of its charges against the group.
The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft, which is representing media corporations such as 20th Century Fox and Seven Network, had accused iiNet of not only making copyrighted material available, but of committing “conversion”.
Conversion occurs when an entity interferes with another’s rights of possession, in a manner that is not consistent with the owner’s rights.
AFACT accused iiNet of committing conversion by transmitting packets of copyrighted data over the internet, therefore intentionally interfering with these studios’ titles over that data.
The claim meant that AFACT accused iiNet of not just providing copyrighted material, but that the ISP was the main copyright infringer.
But last week the studios dropped the conversion claim, along with any damages sought. Federal Court judge Justice Dennis Cowdroy had previously asked for evidence of the claim, but remained unconvinced such evidence existed.
iiNet managing director Michael Malone told itnews.com.au that the ruling was welcome but remains frustrated at the length of the case, which has already spanned six months.
Despite the dropping of conversion claim, AFACT is continuing with its copyright claim against iiNet. If a decision is made in the court against iiNet it would have drastic ramifications for other Australian ISPs.
Malone also said that if the AFACT has grievances against copyright infringements, then it should pursue individuals and not internet providers.
“The law currently provides a process for the applicants to pursue individuals who they think are breaching copyright laws when accessing the internet. If the film and television studios are serious about copyright infringement they can, and should, use this process,” he said.
An alleged attempt by iiNet to postpone the start of the case has been delayed and a decision is now expected before Christmas.
The case is due back in the Federal Court by 9 June, with iiNet’s final defence due by this Friday, 15 May.
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Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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