Tag: Currently browsing "Commonwealth Day"
Blake Dawson - Ownership and licensing of copyright by States and the Commonwealth: High Court grants leave to appeal
Matthew Baldwin and Georgina Adams of Blake Dawson reports that the Copyright Agency Limited has been granted special leave by the High Court of Australia to appeal the decision of the Federal Court in Copyright Agency Limited v State of New South Wales (2007) 73 IPR 1, which dealt with ownership and licensing of survey plans by the NSW Registrar-General. Accordingn to Matthew Baldwin and Georgina Adams, the appeal will consider whether the Federal Court was correct in holding that the NSW government has an implied licence to do everything that, under the statutory and regulatory framework that govern registered plans, the State is obliged to do with, or in relation to, registered plans.
About this entry
- Published:
- 12 Mar 2008 / 09:27 PM
- Category:
- Copyright
Smartcard Television Piracy - Haddad v Foxtel Management Pty Ltd [2008] FCAFC 11
The Full Court decision of Haddad v Foxtell Management Pty Ltd [2008] FCAFC 11 has been delivered by Heerey, Sackville and McKerracher JJ. Their Honours dismissed the appeal with costs and maintained that there was unauthorised use of Foxtel smartcards (through use of ‘pirated’ Foxtel smartcards’. The sole ground of appeal was the argument that Foxtel did not make an ‘encoded broadcast’ within the meaning of section 135AL of the Copyright Act 1968.
Mr Kim Williams AM, Foxtel’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director has said that “today’s judgment by the Full Federal Court to dismiss the appeal highlights that STV piracy is a serious issue. In this instance FOXTEL had to pursue the matter privately however under new Federal legislation enacted after the time of the original action has extended what would constitute a criminal offence under Commonwealth law and now includes unauthorised access by end users. The Court’s decision sets a precedent that piracy of STV will not be tolerated. Harsh new criminal penalties will apply to those who engage in the unauthorised use of STV signals in the future. The recent reform of the Commonwealth’s copyright laws has provided a stepping stone for the STV sector to effectively stamp out piracy of both satellite and cable services which we will pursue vigorously. Piracy is theft and should be treated with all the severity that theft receives in other areas of society.”
Foxtel wins appeal in groundbreaking piracy case
About this entry
- Published:
- 24 Feb 2008 / 06:23 PM
- Category:
- Copyright