Floodgates opened on Australian movie pirates

Internet service provider iiNet Limited (ASX: IIN) loses landmark piracy court case

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Published April 7, 2015 4:41 pm AEST

If you've downloaded a movie or TV show from a torrent site recently, you might be about to receive a letter from the rights holders and their lawyers.

In a landmark decision, Justice Nye Perram ruled in favour of Dallas Buyers Club LLC today, in its case against iiNet Limited (ASX: IIN) and several other internet service providers (ISPs). Dallas Buyers Club LLC represents parties who are concerned that the movie, Dallas Buyers Club, was shared online without authorisation. iiNet and the other ISPs must now hand over the details of the account holders who were tracked sharing the movie.

The other ISPs include M2 Group Ltd's (ASX: MTU) Dodo as well as Internode, Amnet Broadband, Adam Internet and Wideband Networks. It remains to be seen whether iiNet will appeal the decision, but it's a distinct possibility. It's not clear whether the current takeover by TPG Telecom Limited (ASX: TPM) will disrupt that in any way.

The ruling means that 4,700 internet account holders will have their details handed over to Dallas Buyers Club LLC and could soon see legal letters from the company's lawyers. But, in a win for the ISPs, the judge wants to see a sample copy of the letter to be sent.

In the US, consumers have been threatened with legal action and claims for damages for up to US$150,000 unless out-of-court settlement fees were paid. Those settlement fees could be up to US$7,000 and clearly easier for small account holders to pay to avoid going to court. It's commonly known as "speculative invoicing".

But iiNet was concerned its account holders were going to receive similar letters, and the judge appears to have taken the company's side on that issue. Judge Perram also ordered that the privacy of individuals must be protected and not disclosed.

But the primary decision means that other concerned movie and TV show producers, as well as other rights holders, could now pursue Australian movie pirates.

The decision comes as the Australian government moves to crack down on internet piracy – with a new bill allowing rights holders to apply for an injunction requiring ISPs to block certain online locations overseas – such as peer-to-peer networks that facilitate copyright infringement.

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