Australian music industry hopes film studios’ case will streamline site blocking efforts

THE music industry and the country’s music royalties body APRA AMCOS have temporarily put the brakes on a campaign to crackdown on illegal downloading. The application, which was filed last month, seeks to have Australian internet service providers block access to piracy website Kickass Torrents and seven related domains.

The motion was filed on behalf of Universal Music Australia, Warner Music Australia, Sony Music Entertainment Australia and Albert Music.
In a preliminary hearing held in a federal court on Wednesday, representatives for the music industry argued to have their hearing held after a similar motion filed by rights holders from the film industry has been heard.

The case is being co-ordinated by Music Rights Australia and was due to have its directions hearing on June 6, but was moved forward to Wednesday.

A number of the issues involved are currently being worked through in a similar case brought by the Village Roadshow and Foxtel.

In that case the rights holders are seeking to block a number of torrent websites including Pirate Bay, Torrentz, isoHunt and streaming site Solarmovie.

Both cases are seeking to use newly minted copyright infringement laws passed last year in the controversial Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Act 2015. But at this point, the music industry is happy to sit back and watch how Village Roadshow and Foxtel navigate the previously untested waters.So far it has come down to the matter of who shoulders the cost.

The ISPs are not disputing the legality of blocking the websites but don’t want to pay for the cost of implementing it.

By waiting for the result of the first case, they believe a “streamlined process” and precedent around cost sharing will be established.

One major difference in the two cases, however, is the type of injunction requested by the music industry.

Village Roadshow and Foxtel are requesting a rolling injunction that remains active and can be modified if target sites resurface under a new domain or IP address. But the music industry is asking for a less stringent version.

The case is scheduled to appear for a case management hearing in court on July 11, following the film studios’ hearing on June 23.