Movie Studios Sue an ISP and Seek to Disconnect Users Over BitTorrent Piracy
Posted 11/22/08 at 04:43:15 PM | by Justin Kerr
Seven of Hollywood’s most powerful studios which include Paramount, Sony, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal, Warner Bros and Disney are working together to sue an Australian ISP and set a very scary precedent. iiNet, Australia’s third largest internet service provider has been largely credited with rolling out true broadband speeds to residents. Current connection speeds range anywhere from 1.5 to a not so shabby 24 Mbit/s. With all this speed however comes abuse, and allegedly a handful of its users have turned to torrents to saturate these beefy connections with copyright protected video. According to the movie studios represented by AFACT (Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft) iiNet is “failing to take reasonable steps, including enforcing its own terms and conditions, to prevent known unauthorized use of copies of the companies films and TV programs”.
Adrianne Pecotic, Executive Director of AFACT claims that they were forced to take action against iiNet seeing as they weren’t pursuing the issue aggressively enough. The studios are demanding that iiNet disconnect known infringers, an action the ISP has so far refused to do. According to an iiNet spokesman, “Our view is pretty straightforward. We don’t condone or support piracy in any form, and people who choose to pirate content should face the force of the law. This is an industry issue, and we’ve been talking with the IIA, and we’ll work with them in terms of handling it.”
iiNet’s CEO Michael Malone strongly disputes AFACT’s claims saying they have merely refused to disconnect users on the basis of an outside allegation. “We can’t go and kick the customer off on the basis of an allegation from someone else’.” The lawsuit was filed in Australia’s Federal Court on November 20th with the first hearings to being within 30 days. A finding in favor of the AFACT will only further empower the studios and might spark future lawsuits abroad.
So has Hollywood crossed the line?
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Another Frivelos lawsuit.
Submitted by zodi on Tue, 2008-11-25 16:42
Just cause my neighbour showers with her window open and its indecent exposure, I can't sue my condo board for not doing anything about it.
Fact is lawyers are feeling the recession to and know all the little guys have no money so lets go after an ISP with larger pockets. Maybe these studios should go back to making good movies instead of the odd blockbuster floating on the sea of crap they peddle.
Submitted by kc7wbq on Mon, 2008-11-24 13:34
“We can’t go and kick the customer off on the basis of an allegation from someone else" - EXACTLY! Good for them standing up to bullies.
Submitted by Kaze on Sun, 2008-11-23 19:09
This is getting idiotic, and borderline harassment.
Hey Studios, do not bite the hand that feeds you. You never know the consequences...
And, also, Studios, you are NO ONE to demand ANYTHING. Just a reminder.
-=KAZE=-
Submitted by Queenof1 on Sun, 2008-11-23 13:18
I was going to say it's more like sueing the Highway Administration because people are driving without licenses or insurance. Whatever analogy we use, it's wrong. The ISP cannot and should control what content its users download.
Submitted by whitneymr on Sat, 2008-11-22 21:55
This whole tactic is akin to sueing GM because people are speeding in Corvettes. Of course don't ever suggest that a movie from these same poeple influenced a criminal act.
It is with hollow laughter
Submitted by b3ar on Sat, 2008-11-22 21:36
It is with hollow laughter that I see the irony of malevolent corporations crying to the courts and media about being 'victims of piracy'. Perhaps, instead of shovelling crap down our throats in the guise of entertainment (when, let's face it, the corporate bigwigs see movies and music as commodities, rather than art, and pump out as much as possible to cash in as much as possible), the studios would see the value in producing quality goods, worth more in the long run than a few dozen throwaway titles and tracks.
These corporations are not losing money. There was no money there to lose to begin with - 'potential revenue' my left foot. There's no way I'm satisfied dl'ing some shaky-cam copy of a movie I haven't yet seen but really want to - I'm goin' to the freakin' show!
These a$$clowns are just miffed that they can't touch the REAL criminals - the guys in Asia and Russia selling copies and making a mint from it.
/rant
yeah I want my isp to do one
Submitted by AndyYankee17 on Sat, 2008-11-22 16:47
yeah I want my isp to do one thing and it should only do onething. act as a bridge between my house and the internet backbone
Submitted by winmaster on Sun, 2008-11-23 12:11
The subject says it all.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Submitted by AndyYankee17 on Sun, 2008-11-23 18:09
level 3 should skip the middle man and sell bandwidth
crossing the line? Hell
Submitted by nekollx on Sat, 2008-11-22 15:55
crossing the line? Hell yeah. ISP are the athority on what they allow not the studios. IF the studios had their way i would have lost my Charter servive months ago after acidently leaching a pirate copy of The Dark Knight while looking for some good fan sub torrents.
Instead i got a warning from Charter, told them as soon as i identified what the file was it was already deleted before their letter hit my email box and that was it.
Submitted by Muerte on Mon, 2008-11-24 08:22
And Ithought we had internet nazis here at work. That's rediculous.
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