Studios' Oz Power-Grab Revealed

Xiroth writes "More details are beginning to come out about the lawsuit launched by film studios in Australia. According to law experts familiar with the case, the studios seek to force the ISPs to become 'police, judge, and executioner,' effectively giving the studios the legal clout to switch off ISP customers' internet connection at will. Apparently the ISP iiNet is the unlucky victim for the test case as, unlike other ISPs, they refused to pass on infringement notices to their customers."

Comments

Glad someone's fighting

[MoonBuggy]

I'm liking the sound of these iiNet people - they were the ones who wanted to say a big 'screw you' to the proposed government censorship scheme, too. Any Aussies care to comment on whether they're actually the good guys or not?

To iiNet Customers

[MozeeToby]

Do everything you can to be suspicious without violating any laws. Download dozens of distrobutions of Linux, send massive files to your friends anything to get yourself noticed. Then, when they cut off your access, complain and complain and keep complaining until they either give in or give up.

Seriously, these test cases exist for a reason, show the ISP how much business it will cost them, show the government how many false positives they will get. It can't hurt and (if they aren't a buch of corrupt fools) it could help.

what if they disconnect the wrong person or

[josepha48]

if they disconnect someone who is later found innocent? Will that person be able to sue the ISP and the AU Government?

Well this just seems like the AU gov is really f'd up these days. IMO.

Re:Even Wilder leap of logic

[Anonymous Coward]

So an eyewitness is as guilty as the perpetrator?

It's called Duty to Rescue in my state, or Good Samaritan Laws in other countries.

In this case, the entity that had a right to be rescued is the Aussie film studios.

I didn't RTF, so I don't actually know if its being positioned that way. But yes, an eyewitness can be held accountable for not helping. The laws are intended to protect rescuers, but also provide penalties for non action.

Re:Because they're fighting back.

[dontmakemethink]

As I posted in a related thread, they not only did not ignore the complaints, "iiNet will be participating in the trials, mostly to prove that the filters are impractical, unworkable and unwanted." The studios are suing them not for ignoring the complaints, not for refusing to cooperate, but just for being reluctant about cooperating.

Major suckage.

Re:WTF is wrong with Australia these days?

[CaptainDefragged]

Don't forget the US Free Trade Agreement our government signed us up for. Thanks for that. Now we get to have DMCA like rules, MAFIAA/RIAA browbeating and destruction of our medical system by "Big Pharma".