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ARTICLE · 06 DECEMBER 2017

Site blocking under s115A of the Copyright Act 1968: silver bullet or pop gun?

Holman Webb
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Article examines s115 Copyright Act 1968 and concludes that there is no silver bullet for online copyright infringements. .

AustraliaIntellectual Property
Tal Williams
Tal Williams
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Tips for lawyers

  1. Be tech savvy; know what kind of block will be most effective.
  2. Cover all bases; the primary purpose test and the discretionary matters in subsection (5) mean you need evidence about the website, its owner and its functions.
  3. Investigate; no matter how hidden they are, you need to at least make reasonable efforts to determine the website operator's identity and notify them of the proceedings.
  4. Co-operate with the ISPs; this is a no fault provision - therefore, the proceedings don't have to be adversarial. The more issues that can be agreed, the easier the application will be.
  5. Think past the orders; have a mechanism in mind for expanding/modifying the initial orders to cover domain shifting etc.

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