Foxtel confirms it is ‘assessing’ options to launch first cases under anti-piracy laws
Foxtel is considering launching the first legal action under recently passed piracy laws, the pay TV company has confirmed.
Bosses at Foxtel are seeking legal advice on how best to bring about the case under Australia’s new site-blocking legislation, which was passed by The Senate back in June, but have not put any time frame on how long the process could take.
The case could be aimed at websites like Pirate Bay which allow people to access content such as Game of Thrones, which Foxtel holds the exclusive Australian rights to, and block them from being accessed in Australia.
A Foxtel spokesperson told Mumbrella: “The Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill does nothing more than give copyright holders similar rights in relation to foreign websites which steal their content to those they would have if the sites were based in Australia.
The rights holders’ emissaries campaigned on the basis that the site blocking law was an urgent necessity. If that’s so, you’d think they’d have a raft of cases ready to go. Methinks we might just be caught up in a global anti-piracy campaign despite being a very small part of the problem in actual dollar terms. The real issue in this country is that geo-blocking has been used for decades to price gouge hapless consumers.
launch proxies in 3… 2..
hurry up and start blocking so the proxies become useful
Foxtel would be better off by placing an App on Apple TV and the forthcoming Telstra Roku box as a month by month contract where the consumer could choose their own
content package in either SD or HD for those who have the bandwidth rather than waste time,money and energy going to court.
First good thing Foxtel has done in some time
Ultimately this whole fiasco boils down to two simple concepts.
1. Foxtel is not providing a value product/service.
2. Consumers have other options.
This is the fundamental reason Foxtel finds themselves in this position. Instead of putting consumers first and revisiting their package and pricing structure, Foxtel choose to stamp their feet and demand relevance. Average Joe doesn’t care about Foxtel’s right deals, he only cares about the value of the product/service. Foxtel needs to come to him, not the other way around.
Great summary. Australia strikes again at Internet Freedom by allowing those in power to use the law as a tool.
Would have been good to have explained what the VPN loophole was for completeness by changing it into a link.
http://www.howtogeek.com/16741.....filtering/
Or should that be blocked as well because it’s facilitating piracy? Guilty before proven innocent.
You’d think given Foxtel now offer Internet services they would block these illegal sites themselves. They don’t. There’s nothing stopping them from doing so except perhaps it’s not good for their own bottom line offering a crippled Internet service…. I’m amazed the media hasn’t covered this double standard. I’m certain the courts would find it interesting too.
Do those options include providing a better service and not jamming shows full of as many ads as possible?
I wonder whether they’ll offer a brand sponsorship to the lawsuit… Imagine the integration.