by Amy Pettinger, Content Cafe — 28 November 2022
Rightsholders, led by Village Roadshow, secured an anti-piracy win in Australia’s Federal Court last week as the first site blocking ruling concerning a cyberlocker was handed down. The cyberlocker in question, Mixdrop, allows users to store pirated content and share it online.
Graham Burke AO, chairman of anti-piracy organisation Creative Content Australia welcomed the win:
“Cyberlockers play a key role in the piracy ecosystem and this judgement will disrupt important criminal operators who facilitate pirated content via Mixdrop. Site blocking continues to be instrumental in the reduction of piracy in Australia. Ultimately though, it helps to keep consumers safe from the significant risks that come with accessing content unlawfully.”
Piracy remains a problem in Australia with nearly 1 in 5 Australians regularly accessing copyright infringing content online, according to Creative Content Australia’s 2021 Annual Piracy Behaviours and Attitudes survey.
Previously, pirate sites have been blocked under the ‘Primary Purpose’ test of the legislation, and this is the first time that a site has been blocked under the ‘Primary Effect’ test, which was introduced in 2018 under the amendments to section 115A of the Copyright Act.
FURTHER READING: Albanese Government announce copyright review, 28 November 2022