Judge rules Internet provider doesn't abuse copyrights

SYDNEY: An Australian judge ruled yesterday that an Internet service provider cannot be held accountable for illegal movie downloads by its customers, in a test case of a key strategy by entertainment companies to combat online piracy.

The judge said it was the first time a court had ruled on the question of whether an ISP should be liable for copyright violations by its users, and one expert said the decision would have global implications.

A group of 34 movie companies, including Australian branches of Hollywood studios Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox, claimed Australia's third-largest Internet provider, iiNet, breached their film copyrights by failing to stop users from illegally downloading files.