Australian Court Says Dallas Buyers Club Copyright Trolling May Proceed, With Some Caveats

from the the-details-will-matter dept

Late last year, we noted that Australian ISP iiNet -- well-known for pushing back against anti-consumer practices in both surveillance and copyright enforcement -- had decided to go to court to fight a copyright trolling attempt by Voltage Pictures, the Hollywood studio behind Dallas Buyers Club. Voltage Pictures has also made a name for itself as a major copyright troll, shaking down people around the globe and loudly insulting anyone who questions the strategy.

As iiNet explained at the time, it had no problem with going after copyright infringers, but it wasn't comfortable with the copyright trolling practice of "speculative invoicing" -- which is the nice term for shaking people down by sending them an invoice and telling them the only way to avoid a lawsuit is to pay up. iiNet basically said that it would turn over user information only if ordered by a court, which is the proper response. Even though, during the course of the court case iiNet raised serious concerns about Voltage Pictures' "expert" Daniel Macek (a name you may recognize as also being a key figure in Malibu Media's copyright trolling game via a variety of shell companies), the court has now said that iiNet has to turn over the info.

However, the court appears to recognize at least some of how copyright trolling works, and says that the shakedown letters sent to iiNet subscribers must "first be submitted [to the court] for approval." It remains to be seen what the court will approve concerning such letters, but at the very least, hopefully this will prevent the aggressive shakedown actions seen concerning Dallas Buyers Club/Voltage Pictures in other countries.

Also, it's worth noting that last month, another Australian ISP, TPG, announced plans to acquire iiNet (subject to regulatory review), leading many to (reasonably) wonder if iiNet was going to continue its pro-subscriber advocacy in the future. Given the strong efforts made by iiNet over the years to stand up for the rights of its customers, it would be a shame to see the new company turn into yet another ISP with little concern for its subscribers.

Filed Under: austalia, copyright, copyright trolling, dallas buyers club, daniel macek, privacy
Companies: dallas buyers club llc, iinet, voltage pictures