ISP Liability for Copyright Authorisation: The Trial Decision in Roadshow Films v iinet Part One

This is Part One of a two part exploration of the contours of copright authorisation liability as that liability relates to a case involving the Australain internet service provider iiNet and thirty-four film and television companies. In this part a primer on copyright authorisation liability is provided, together with an economic policy explanation for why such liability exists. In part two, to be published in the June edition of the Bulletin, a critique on the trial judge's decision in the case will be offered in light of this primer and policy exposition.

Spectrum and Swiss Cheese: The Digital Dividend in Australia

The DBCDE Green Paper on the digital dividend was issued in January 2010. This paper looks at the background issues associated with delivering a digital dividend in Australia including what a digital dividend is, its value and some of the issues with delivering that value to the public purse.

Premium SMS Regulation : A necessary reform or over-regulation stifling innovation?

The first week of March 2010 saw the ACMA announce the next wave of regulation for the premium SMS market, with the release of a Determination under the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth) and a Consultation Paper for a proposed second Determination. In this paper Hamish Fraser reviews the effects of recent regulation and discusses whether the premium SMS market is now being stifled by heavy-handed regulation.

"Won't Somebody Please Think of the Children": Would a Mandatory ISP level Filter of Internet Content Raise Freedom of Communication Issues?

Chris Govey considers whether Federal Government plans to impose mandatory ISP-level filtering could conflict with the implied freedom of political communication in the Australian Constitution