"We see this as our main, go forward vehicle," Mr Burke said, adding that fighting illicit downloaders was "triparted". "There are three legs to this table, any one of which is not there and the table will fall over." One of the table's legs, he said, was a bill before Parliament that aims to block illegal downloading sites. The second leg was education, "winning over hearts and minds", while the third was ensuring legal downloads were available at "cheap and attractive prices" and in Australia at the same time as other countries. "We have got to win people over," Mr Burke said. Federal Attorney-General George Brandis and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull set a 120-day deadline last December for internet service providers and entertainment companies to create a binding code. It came after companies such as Village and iiNet had tried to work out a solution but were unable to reach agreement.

Nevertheless, the telecommunication industry's lobby group, Communications Alliances, submitted an industry code to the Australian Communications and Media Authority for approval last Wednesday. The document centres on a "three strikes" system. An illegal downloader will get three warning notices before a telco will help copyright holders identify them for potential legal action. The code's operation is separate to the Federal Court ruling concerning Dallas Buyers Club, which will force internet service providers iiNet and M2 Group to reveal the personal details of about 4700 customers to the film's copyright holder, Voltage Pictures. Mr Burke hasn't ruled out legal action if the triparted strategy fails. "We may have to consider other options," he said.

"I'm not going to stand by and see an industry that is not only about jobs in the economy, but also about culture and aesthetics and what we are, get killed by a bunch of thieves. And let's not forget that sitting right behind these thieves are guys that are making tens of millions of dollars in selling advertising, so I'm not ruling out anything. "But the program [the code] that we have got, and speaking for Village, is the one that we will be pursuing." Matthew Deaner, executive director of Screen Producers Australia, said a wave of Australian Dallas Buyers Club-style court actions was unlikely. He said Australian film producers were trying to educate the public rather than sue them. "Most people in most parts of the industry are trying to have different type of dialogue with people. They're trying to say, 'this is the right way to go about this stuff, this has a consequence to us'," Mr Deaner said.

"For most people, if they get that message strongly and maybe in the back of their heads realise that there are eyes on what they are doing … that would change a set of behaviours. "So the need to pursue individuals, with the way this [Dallas Buyers Club ruling] is playing out, I'm not so sure is a day-to-day tactic that anybody would be considering." But Mr Deaner said the Federal Court ruling was helpful. "People kind of have to raise their heads, instead of having their heads in the sand with this behaviour. "It's saying: 'well actually there are consequences that can play out for you if don't pay attention … you are doing things that can ultimately create problems, not just for the industry but also for yourself."