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AFACT looks to govt after court loss

The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) today said it was disappointed by its losing position in the internet piracy trial against local internet service provider (ISP) iiNet, but said it believed the verdict was not what the Federal Government wanted.
Written by Renai LeMay, Contributor

The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) today said it was disappointed by its losing position in the internet piracy trial against local internet service provider (ISP) iiNet, but said it believed the verdict was not what the Federal Government wanted.

Justice Cowdroy today handed iiNet a sound victory in the Australian ISP's long-running battle against a coalition of film and television studios, finding in the Federal Court that iiNet did not authorise copyright infringement carried out by its customers using the BitTorrent file-sharing platform.

"We are confident that the government does not intend a policy outcome where rampant copyright infringement is allowed to continue unaddressed and unabated via the iiNet network," said AFACT executive director Neil Gane in a statement, speaking on behalf of the organisation and the film and TV studios which brought the action.

"Today's decision is a setback for the 50,000 Australians employed in the film industry. But we believe this decision was based on a technical finding centred on the court's interpretation of how the infringements occur and the ISP's ability to control them."

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has not yet made a statement on the verdict, but he has previously commented on the trial.

For example, in March 2009, the minister said iiNet's defence was something which "belongs in a Yes, Minister episode", referring to the famously bureaucratic television series.

The Sydney Morning Herald has also reported previously that a spokesperson for Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the government was considering a three strikes rule — if a user infringes copyright three times they would be cut off by an internet service provider — depending on the outcome of the trial.

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