“Bringing a large dose of common sense into the equation…”

Somebody thinking clearly about the internet copyright ‘three strikes, you’re disconnected’ proposals: An Australian judge has ruled that ISP iiNet is not responsible for its customers breaking copyright laws.

(Of course it will be appealed!)

Aussie ISP strikes landmark blow in copyright war

By Pat Pilcher NZ Herald Thursday Feb 4, 2010

Aussie ISP iiNet has won a landmark case over service providers’ responsibilities when it comes to handling copyright-protected material.

The case kicked off in the Australian Federal Court in October, between internet service provider iiNet, and AFACT (the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft).

AFACT accused iiNet of authorising ‘torrent’ downloads by not acting on known copyright infringements by its subscribers.

In what is likely to represent a blow to attempts to crack down on copyright infringing downloads, Judge Cowdroy has ruled that iiNet are not guilty.

… Bringing a large dose of common sense into the equation, Judge Cowdroy stated that iiNet has no control over BitTorrent and cannot be held responsible for the actions of its subscribers. continues

I get as worked up about copyright infringement as anybody else, but it’s crazy to direct sillyness at the ISPs instead of tackling BitTorrent. It’s like blaming the photocopy machine.

These things are going to change.