Internet service provider (ISP) iiNet has proved its PR skill on several occasions throughout its battle with the Australian Federation against Copyright Theft (AFACT), being pro-active wherever possible. Last month it took that one step further, by proposing its own, unique regulatory system for online piracy.
It issued a report entitled Encouraging Legitimate use of Online Content, which proposed an independent body to oversee online copyright infringement that would interact with content owners, ISPs and consumers. There would be an escalating penalty system, including fines and references to the courts, but would not outright disconnect them from the internet – as other so-called three-strikes systems around the world have suggested (including in neighbouring New Zealand).
Inevitably there are areas where it is not clear what actions would fall into the proposed categories of minor, major and serious breaches of copyright. For example, how serious is the sharing of multiple files to...