Things are really starting to heat up between the copyright cops and Perth based iiNet, as the court battle continues over the legitimacy of Aussie file downloaders and iiNet's role in the fight against online piracy.
According to a story at ITnews, iiNet has been called upon by the court to give up the priavte account details of twenty unlucky downloaders. The iiNet twenty are going to be made an example of; originally AFACT (Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft) sought the records of 300-400 account holders. Fortunately for those twenty, the details will be kept private and AFACT only have access to IP records.
However, those twenty symbolic iiNet users shouldn't feel alone. A recent Torrentfreak report suggested that Aussies downloaded as many as 6 million files in April across the auspicious P2P/Bittorent network, with most of those being directed through Bittorrent site, Mininova.
It's obvious that a bit of perspective is needed in all this.
According to court reports, iiNet's main beef in the whole download argument, appears to stem from their problem with the copyright groups not being clear and open with them. Six months into proceedings, the court process has been critised by iiNet for being long and drawn out with regular concessions needing to be ironed out throughout the case.
AFACT, which represent major stakeholders in the motion picture association, have incensed iiNet with their court tactics, as other ISPs (and some with much deeper pockets) sit back and watch without any so much as a mention of their involvement in the burgeoning download scene.
"Here we have more than 20 of the world's largest film and television organisations saying copyright breaches are an international problem and that we, as a small Perth-based ISP, should do something about, it but they won't provide information on what they are doing elsewhere in the world to tackle the issue", said iiNet Managing Director, Michael Malone.
In truth, all Australian ISPs are part of the 'scene' and any future solution will need to come from a concerted effort from all ISPs in the country; not just one.
As it currently stands, the court battle is starting to paint AFACT as a schoolyard copyright bully. iiNet have consistently stated that they are happy to comply with all laws, but are slightly erked that that the regular process of contacting indvidual users with cease and desist letters is not being sought.
"The law currently provides a process for the applicants to pursue individuals who they think are breaching copyright laws when accessing the internet. If the film and television studios are serious about copyright infringement they can, and should use, this process", Mr Malone said.