A music industry representative told ZDNet Australia following a Federal Court hearing this morning the University had informed them last night of a mistake which would hamper the industry's attempts to track down individuals who had allegedly used the University's network to perpetrate copyright breaches.
Music giants Sony, EMI and Universal began proceedings in February this year against the University of Melbourne, Sydney University and the University of Tasmania, seeking information on alleged incidents of breach of copyright on the universities networks.
The first battle came over whether the universities should preserve copies of the files sought by the music industry as evidence, pending the outcome of the court case as to whether the files should be handed over. The University of Tasmania and Sydney University claimed they had made copies of the files, but the University of Melbourne resisted, saying it would "take whatever steps we legally can to protect the privacy of our staff and students".
The music industry was distressed earlier this week when they learned that the University of Melbourne, which has apparently agreed to preserve the requested files, had failed to do so. "The university has completed a software evaluation consistent with previous court orders," University of Melbourne spokesperson Christina Buckridge told ZDNet Australia. She said that while the case was in court the university didn't consider it appropriate to comment on other matters, such as the outcome of the software evaluation.
Now the music industry is claiming the University of Tasmania informed them they "made a mistake" when preserving a copy of the network, but refused to detail how the mistake was made.
"We're looking for an explanation as to why we were told earlier [the University of] Tasmania had made a snapshot of the evidence, but later told there had been a mistake," said Michael Speck, manager of Music Industry Piracy Investigations. He said the next hearing, scheduled for next Wednesday, would be about whether the University of Tasmania has to explain the mistake.
Speck said he was hoping for a resolution to the matter before this point. The timetable for the two parties to produce evidence has been pushed back, but the hearing date remains unchanged.
"Every time they come here they give the impression of folding, and when the timetable comes they [don't meet the requirements]," said Speck.
The University of Tasmania could not be reached for comment by press time.
