SYDNEY — Six Australian record companies have settled out of court with its case against Internet service provider Swiftel.
The labels, which used Warner Music Australia as the main complainant, alleged that Swiftel infringed their copyright by hosting and maintaining two servers (referred to as Torrent Webpages); the record companies also claimed Swiftel operated a Web site called Archie’s Hub, which deployed the BitTorrent application, allowing for the high-speed download of large files.
In a joint statement issued Oct. 14, Swiftel’s CEO Ryan O’Hare said, “Swiftel regrets that it has not taken enough action to date to stop Internet piracy. We are committed to implementing a new set of industry leading compliance programs to protect the music industry.”
Swiftel claimed it had undertaken a sophisticated regime that manages the receipt and responses to copyright-infringement notices issued by copyright holders. In some instances, the statement said, infringers have been disconnected from its network.
Michael Kerin, Sydney-based GM of the Music Industry Piracy Investigation unit, tells ELW, “This is a triumph for the music industry in that an ISP has admitted they had not done enough to prevent piracy.”
He added that the finding, in addition to the Sept. 5 Kazaa outcome, “vindicated the strong stance of the music industry.”
Kerin declined to comment on whether the agreement included payment by Swiftel, citing a confidentiality clause. “But we are very happy with the settlement,” he adds.
The MIPI unit used the authority of the Anton Piller civil search warrant to raid Swiftel’s Perth offices on March 10, looking for infringing data.
Following an investigation, the labels claimed Swiftel’s network supported copyright-infringing downloads of music videos by Guns N’ Roses, Pearl Jam, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams, along with TV shows and movies.
