Aussie ISPs to divulge customers names in landmark case

In a landmark case that has implications for music fans who have download illegally, Australian ISPs have lost a bid to keep their customers’ names private.

The case involved the Hollywood blockbuster Dallas Buyers Club, which had allegedly been shared by 4,700 customers of six Australian telcos since May 2013. Its two US producers, Dallas Buyers Club LLC and Voltage Pictures LLC, launched a test case wanting the names of the sharers. It wanted to trace back who had originally pirated the film, they said.

The six telcos – iiNet, Internode, Dodo, Amnet Broadband, Adam Internet and Wideband Networks – initially refused. They also argued that the film studio would harass their customers, threaten them with legal action and demand huge amounts of compensation.

They cited how in America, studios sent account holders legal letters saying they were liable for damages up to $US150,000 ($196,656) unless they settled for costs of up to $US7,000 ($9,171). This is called “speculative invoicing.”

But yesterday, Justice Nye Perram of the Federal Court sided with the film studios (to a point) and granted them a discovery order.

However, Justice Perram also made it clear that while the producers could get the names, email and street addresses, the users’ privacy was to be maintained. Any letter to be sent to the users must be signed off by the judge. The names can only be used to get compensation.

iiNet chief David Buckingham commented, "By going through the process we've been able to ensure that our customers will be treated fairly and won't be subjected to the bullying that we have seen happen elsewhere.”

The studios will pay the ISPs legal costs in the case, and also bear the ISPs costs of searching for documents that identify alleged users and pirates.

Detailed orders will be unveiled when the case returns to court on April 21.

Michael Bradley of Marque Lawyers, which represents the rights holders, agreed the decision set a precedent.

“'I don't know what impact it will have on piracy. Certainly, Australia is one of the jurisdictions with the highest rate of unauthorised downloading and this is a first step from a copyright owner to try to change that balance.”