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ARTICLE · 08 JULY 2011

Liability for copyright infringement: Who’s at fault?

Coleman Greig Lawyers
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High Court proceedings in Roadshaw v iiNet will shed light on issues of copyright

AustraliaIntellectual Property
Delvene Michael (Previously With Coleman Greig)
Delvene Michael (Previously With Coleman Greig)
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The ongoing issue of whether or not an internet service provider ("ISP") authorises copyright infringement when its customers illegally download films, is now a step closer to being resolved.

Last year the case of Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Ltd saw Roadshow Films (together with 33 other major film production companies from the USA and Australia) bring an action against the internet service provider iiNet, with the assistance of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft ("AFACT").

In this case, the Federal court of Australia had to consider whether or not iiNet 'authorises' copyright infringement by allowing its customers to use the internet service they provide to download films.

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