Case Reports

Intellectual property - Copyright - Infringement - Authorisation

In Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Limited (No. 3) [2010] FCA 24 (4 February 2010), the Federal Court of Australia (in a lengthy judgment) considered the question of whether an internet service provider ("ISP") authorises the infringement of copyright of its users or subscribers when they download cinematograph films in a manner which infringes copyright.  In Australian copyright law, a person who authorises the infringement of copyright is treated as if they themselves infringed copyright directly.  In dismissing the application, the Court made a number of findings, including that the ISP did not authorise the infringement of copyright, nor have the obligation to stop infringements.   Compliance with 'safe harbour provisions' in the Copyright Act 1968 may be evidence that can be relevant to show that a carriage service provider ("CSP") ought not be liable for copyright infringement.  There is only one infringement even if the internet user transmits more than 100% of a file back to the swarm of computers in multiple packets of information; the correct approach is to view each group of computers as an entity itself.