iiNet won their court case against AFACT!!

If that statement alone has you fist-pumping the air right now, then carry on celebrating noble freedom fighter!

If you’re wondering why I’m so happy, let me explain.  Way back in November 2008, Australian ISP iiNet was taken to court by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) for allegedly failing to pass on copyright infringement notifications to its customers.  AFACT argued that by not enforcing their demands, iiNet was supposedly “authorising piracy” on their network.

Let me put it to you like this: if someone steals water from their neighbour’s garden hose, is the water company responsible because they provided the water?  The correct answer of course is HELL NO!  The water company is just a utility providing a service, they’re not responsible for how water is used.  In the same way, ISPs are a utility for providing internet services, not for policing how it’s used.  If AFACT had their way, ISPs would be forced to monitor all their customers’ usage.  It’s illegal for the postal service to check our mail, so why should ISPs be allowed to snoop on our internet activity?

Despite logic being on our side, most of us didn’t expect iiNet to win this case.  However, last Thursday Justice Dennis Cowdroy found that iiNet did not authorise the infringements and ruled in their favour.  Cowdroy stated that “The mere provision of access to the internet is not an authorisation of infringement“.  Despite what AFACT would have us believe, this does not mean pirates are “off the hook”.  After the verdict was announced, iiNet CEO Michael Malone emphasised that they do not condone piracy, but insisted that litigation isn’t the right way to fight it.  Rather, the best way to deal with the issue is to make the content available legally online in a way that’s mutually beneficial for the studios and the consumers.  Couldn’t have said it better myself.

That’s nice, but why do I care?

You should care because this is a big win for our privacy as consumers.  It means the big studios can’t bully ISPs into breaching the privacy of their customers.  The pretence of fighting piracy doesn’t give them the right to spy on all of us, and fortunately the court saw it that way too.

Just when things were looking gloomy for Australians with the proposed internet censorship filter still undefeated, it’s nice to see some good news for once.

If you haven’t seen it yet, you should watch Kevin Rose interview the man for an episode of Digg Dialogg.  It runs for about 40 minutes, so settle in with a bottle of wine and get ready to open your mind.

To get things rolling, let’s take a look at the RIAA.  I could have focused on the Australian equivalent, or even the British, but they don’t seem to attract as much global attention.  Suffice to say that they all have much the same roles and agendas in their respective regions.

The RIAA cop a lot of flack, particularly from the online community, for their harsh policies and heavy handed response to piracy.  I’m not saying they shouldn’t protect their copyrights, but it often seems like they are pointing the gun at the wrong people.  The pirates that they want to flush out and prosecute include their biggest customers: you and me!  I still buy CDs and DVDs, but like most of you, I also acquire digital content by… ‘other means’.  Honestly, is there anyone out there who has never shared an MP3 or made a mix tape or lent a CD or video to a buddy?  If you’ve never bent copyright laws, please add a comment below, because I’d love to hear your opinions.

"A copyright will protect you from pirates"... the days before the internet were a much simpler time. Image by Ioan Sameli and freely available under a Creative Commons licence (some rights reserved).

Pitting yourself against your customers is never a smart move, but I suppose the RIAA and other such organisations are left with few alternatives under the circumstances.  Copyright is important, and copyright holders have a right and a duty to protect it.  Without copyright, there can be no copyleft… but more on that another time.

A recent press release titled Piracy: Online and On The Street, explains how the RIAA are tackling the many areas of the ‘piracy problem’.  Working with law enforcement to pull pirated products off the street is the number one and most aggressive action on the list.  I just imagine police beating up shady bootleg peddlers on the streets of Singapore selling burned CDs of Billboard‘s top 100 next to the guy selling smack to six year old boys.  In the present digital age, the reality is much different.  It’s so easy now to find popular music online through ‘less-than-legal’ means without paying anything but your connection fees! I can’t image there would be much money to be made on pirated products any more when anyone can download almost any content for free.

Photo by Mike Zienowicz, freely available under a Creative Commons licence (some rights reserved).

Everyone has a right to protect their intellectual property, but we all bend the laws of copyright on a daily basis and have done for many years (yes, even before the internet!).  Legislation, education and enforcement haven’t stopped us (try as they might), so maybe it’s time for a new strategy.  Whether people are buying your media or pirating it, the important thing is that there is a demand for it.  In an era where everyone has a voice and anyone can produce content, having content that people want to hear/see is a valuable commodity in itself.  Shouldn’t the message be more important than how much people are paying for it?

I look forward to your thoughts.