The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) lost its appeal today against internet service provider iiNet.
The Full Bench of the Federal Court has dismissed the film industry's appeal against a February 2010 judgment, which found ISP iiNet had not authorised copyright infringement on its network.
Representing a host of high-profile movie studios, AFACT took iiNet to court over copyright infringement in 2008. The ISP was accused of allowing its customers to illegally download 100,000 films, TV shows and music singles over a 59 week period.
The resultant court battle has dragged on for more than two years. Despite the failure of the appeal, iiNet has been warned that further legal proceedings may still be on the horizon.
In making the ruling, the Hon. Justice Emmett stated: "I have concluded that the appeal should be dismissed; however, it's fair to say that the appellants [AFACT] have been successful [on some grounds], therefore the parties should be heard further."
The full judgement concluded that iiNet "might in the future be held to have authorised primary acts of infringement."
AFACT has been ordered to pay iiNet's legal bills.
For a more detailed overview of the court ruling, check out the coverage by our sister site iTNews.
