Dallas Buyers Club: Federal Court ruling unlikely to deter pirates, technology journalist says

Updated

Pirates are unlikely to be deterred by a ruling from the Federal Court ordering internet service providers (ISPs) to supply the names of people accused of illegally downloading the 2013 movie Dallas Buyers Club, a technology journalist says.

The film's owners have warned thousands of Australians can expect settlement letters following the landmark court ruling.

In the US, the movie's owner Voltage Pictures sought settlement fees of up to $9,000, or threatened to sue for damages of $200,000.

Technology website ZDNet journalist Josh Taylor said the decision would "probably scare a few people", but that it was not the most effective way to stop piracy.

"I don't think that scaring people into stopping downloading is the most effective way of doing it," he said.

"The most effective thing you can do is make the content available in a timely and affordable manner and we are getting to that stage now."

He said it was unclear when Voltage Pictures would be able to take action against the illegal downloaders.

"You won't get a letter in the mail tomorrow ... it's basically just an authorisation to have the customer details handed over to Dallas Buyers Club," he said.

"The court ruling was very specific in saying 'you can't just go out and send letters saying give us thousands of dollars or we'll take you to court'.

"There is a fairly big barrier ahead for Dallas Buyers Club in order to start sending out those letters.

"I think ... people will get letters eventually, but it will be very specific about what your rights are and how much you will have to pay."

In the US, Voltage's attorneys have reportedly been lining up names and IP addresses of people who illegally downloaded the movie and filing suit against them, citing a 1976 statute that allows for a fine of up to $US150,000.

According to reports the defendants have usually settled out of court for about $5,000, occasionally more.

In February 2014, the Federal Court of Canada ordered Voltage to pay internet service provider TekSavvy $C22,000 to cover the costs of handing over the names of 2,000 people who were allegedly sharing the film illegally, the Financial Post reported.

The court also insisted that a judge had the right to oversee the letters to ensure they clearly stated the recipient had not been found liable by a court.

"In the US you got letters saying, 'give us $7,000 or we'll take you to court'. In Canada they tried the same sort of thing but the court put a similar proviso on, 'we have to see the letter before you send it out', Mr Taylor said.

"That was in February 2014 and they haven't sent any letters out ... it's not clear whether we'll see any letters sent out."

Michael Wickstrom of Voltage Pictures said the company would not be engaging in similar "speculative invoicing" of Australians.

"What works in the US does not necessarily work for other territories ... with the settlement letter going out," he said.

Xavier O'Halloran from the Austrailan Consumer Users Action Network said people should seek independent legal advice even though Voltage promised not to shake down consumers.

"In some cases, especially under Australian law, damages are completely different to what you'd expect in the US," he said.

"So damage could be just the damage that you cause in downloading that single copy ... $10 to $20."

The internet service providers are yet to say whether they will appeal against the decision.

Topics: information-and-communication, copyright, law-crime-and-justice, courts-and-trials, internet-culture, internet-technology, australia

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