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ARTICLE · 24 FEBRUARY 2011

When is an ISP liable for its users' copyright infringements?

Clayton Utz
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If an ISP's customers infringe copyright and the ISP does not take steps to stop it occurring, is it liable for copyright infringement? Today the Full Federal Court found that iiNet was not liable, but gave some guidance on how copyright owners can establish liability, in the eagerly-awaited appeal decision in Roadshow Films Pty Limited v iiNet Limited [2011] FCAFC 23.

AustraliaIntellectual Property
John Fairbairn
John Fairbairn
Timothy Webb
Timothy Webb
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If an ISP's customers infringe copyright and the ISP does not take steps to stop it occurring, is it liable for copyright infringement? Today the Full Federal Court found that iiNet was not liable, but gave some guidance on how copyright owners can establish liability, in the eagerly-awaited appeal decision in Roadshow Films Pty Limited v iiNet Limited [2011] FCAFC 23.

The ISP, the infringing users, and the copyright owners

iiNet is an Australian ISP. The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) served it with notices which alleged that iiNet's customers were infringing the copyright of the major film studios by sharing and downloading films and TV shows via the BitTorrent peer-to-peer protocol.

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