iiNet has emerged victorious in its defence against the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) in a court ruling handed down today. In front of a packed courtoom in Sydney today, Judge Cowdry announced that "iiNet has no control over the BitTorrent system and is not responsible for the operation of the BitTorrent system." Also stating "the mere provision of access to the internet is not an authorisation of infringement."
It's something directly out of a movie, the small guy up against a major corporation with seemingly no chance of winning. Well that was exactly the case for iiNet when a group representing several major entertainment groups took the internet service provider to court late last year. Only that the major corporation itself was Hollywood, a group calling themselves AFACT.
AFACT alleged that iiNet has not done enough to curb piracy on its network and was harbouring copyright infringer's. Today's judgement of course now quashes these allegations and it sends a very clear message to the film industry that it needs to change its ways and start working with the Internet rather than against it.
The government also announced today that it would not adopt a three strikes policy being discussed in a secret treaty between countries called "ACTA" or Anti-counterfeiting Trade Agreement.
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