Archive for the ‘ISP and Telco Law’ Category

ACMA issues landmark proceedings

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

In a landmark move, the ACMA has for the first time brought an action in the Federal Court  against Telco GoTalk for an alleged breaches of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.

The ACMA alleges that GoTalk via its two offshore calls centres called 40,000 numbers contained on the Do Not Call Register.

Breaches of this kind have proven to be costly for infringing companies in the past, with Dodo Australia being issued a fine of $147 400 in 2008 for its call centres ringing 67 de-listed Australian phone numbers.

This isn’t the first sign of trouble for GoTalk. Last year the company accepted undertakings by the ACCC to record telemarketing calls and to monitor conversations at random to ensure compliance with the TPA, in response to allegations that its offshore call centres had misrepresented information to consumers, including pricing and terms and conditions.

The matter is listed for directions on 29 March 2010 in the Federal Court in Sydney.

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AFACT to appeal iiNet judgment

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Reports today indicate that AFACT has sought leave to appeal the landmark copyright infringement judgment handed down against it, earlier this month.

This comes on the back of a notice of motion filed by AFACT against iiNet with the Federal Court on 18 February 2010 – that motion is scheduled to be heard by the Court on 4 May 2010.

We will keep you posted once more information is to hand.

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iiNet wins landmark case

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Justice Cowdry of the Federal Court of Australia this morning brought down judgment in the iiNet copyright case, in which the Australian ISP was successful.

It was alleged by 34 applicants made up of film studios such as Sony and Warner Bros that iiNet had facilitated copyright infringement, by allowing customers to use peer to peer software to download pirate versions of movies and other copyrighted material.

The Court held that the law did not impose a positive obligation upon iiNet to prevent copyright infringement. The result comes as a slap in the face to the big film studios who had vigorously pursued this case.

This case had attracted international attention and had resulted in legislative changes in jurisdictions such as the UK, where ISPs have an obligation to disconnect customer who infringe copyright.

ISP Lawyers and Telecommunications Lawyers have for some time been debating the merits of this case – some commentators don’t think that this is the end of the matter, with the films studios having the ability to appeal the judgment on points of law.

More to follow…….

Click here to see media comments on the iiNet judgment by Cooper Mills Director, IT & T Lawyer, Erhan Karabardak.

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GSM Encryption Cracked

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

According to news reports, German researchers claimed to have cracked the A5/1 encryption technology used to encrypt GSM mobile phone calls, which represents approximately 80% of the worlds mobile phone users.

These claims have raised concerns with some mobile operators, who claim that if this finding were to be used by criminals, GSM telephone call could be intercepted and monitored relatively easily and cost effectively. This type of conduct is prohibited under Australian law.

IT and Telecommunications Lawyer, Erhan Karabardak, Principal of Cooper Mills Lawyers, said:

whilst these claims, if true, could pose a serious concern, it is unlikely to pose a threat to GSM communications in the short term“.

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Happy Holidays – Seasons Greetings

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

To all of our clients and visitors to our blog, we wish you seasons greetings and a safe and prosperous new year.

Thank you for your support in 2009, and we look forward to working with you in 2010.

Our office will be re-open on 11 January 2010.

Stay tuned for our new IT Law, Telecommunications Law, Domain Law and general Commercial Law articles / posts.

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Posted in Domain law and domaining, General, ISP and Telco Law, IT Law, Podcasts, Privacy, Spam, Trade Practices Law, Uncategorized | No Comments »

4G network to go live

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Telecommunications Company TeliaSonera has said it is recruiting customers to pilot its new 4G network in Oslo and Stockholm which will be launched in early 2010.

The 4G network is configured around the Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, with data speeds of up to 100 megabits per second, which is significantly faster than existing 3G networks. The 4G roll out has be designed to easily deploy by overlaying existing 3G infrastructure.

Customers will initially connect to the network via a Samsung B3710 USB dongle and a laptop, as no handsets can yet use the 4G network. The Samsung B3710 lets users download at max speeds of 100Mbps. The B3710 is set to be available in the first half of 2010, in time for the first live customer tests. Handsets that can use LTE are expected in mid-late 2010.

Ericsson has constructed the network in Stockholm, Sweden while in Oslo, Norway Chinese firm Huawei is behind the operations. Both networks cover the central regions in both cities.

Most operators have committed to upgrading to the faster system, and TeliaSonera  expects that the advance is speed will drive the use of many novel applications such as gaming and viewing of video on laptops.

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Government approves internet censorship

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Breaking News – The Federal Government has today confirmed that it has given the green light to internet censorship in Australia.

The move comes after its internet filtering trials commenced in January 2009, as we previously reported.

Details to follow

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New IT Law and Domain Law Posts

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

We are working on bringing you some more new and interesting IT Law and Domain Law posts and articles shortly.

To assist us to cater to our audience, if you have any specific requests for IT Law, Domain Law or Telecommunications Law articles or information, feel free to drop us a note at info@coopermills.com.au

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Microsoft throws pirates overboard

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Up to one million users who have modified their Xbox game consoles to play pirated games have blocked from logging onto their online accounts.

Microsoft has said that:

all consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox Live.

Machines which are physically altered by attaching extra chips and other hardware violate Microsoft’s terms of use. Although Microsoft can do little to prevent offenders from using their machines to play pirate games, they can cut of online access which in many cases will cut off access to large parts of the game as more and more titles promote an online play element.

Online piracy is becoming an issue of growing concern for the entertainment industry.  Industries have to implement new techniques to prevent piracy from occurring. The music and film industry in the UK has lobbied for the new “three strikes” policy which comes into effect in April 2010. This will require ISPs to suspend internet services of those who ignore piracy warnings.

These new regulatory measures come as a backdrop to the AFACT/IINET case being fought in The Federal Court, about ISPs allegedly allowing copyright infringers to use ISP services.

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ACCC targets mobile internet advertising

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

The ACCC has announced the launch of an Information Paper entitled “Mobile and Other Wireless Internet Speed Claims and the Trade Practices Act 1974”.

The Paper has been developed to assist ISPs in ensuring that their advertising for mobile and wireless internet is compliant with the Trade Practices Act 1974, and in particular the consumer protection provisions.

In launching the Paper, ACCC Chairman, Graeme Samuel said that:

The ACCC is concerned by companies over-promising and under-delivering the speeds available on mobile and wireless internet, particularly in the context of network upgrades and increasing wireless internet subscriptions,” “This Information Paper is intended to assist the whole industry – mobile and wireless internet retailers, resellers, and network owners – to comply with the law.

The ACCC has warned ISPs not to advertise terms such as ‘maximum’, ‘up to’ or ‘peak network’ speeds, “if those speeds are not generally achievable or likely to be achieved by consumers using the network.”. The ACCC warning indicates that it is taking a similar approach to that previously taken with ADSL2+ advertising.

The ACCC has expressed the view that ISPs should:

  1. only make speed claims based on ‘appropriate tests of network performance’ to show speeds that can generally be achieved; and
  2. prominently state the factors affecting mobile and wireless internet speeds such as congestion, location, and other variables.

The Paper also contains an Industry Checklist to assist with compliance – ISPs are reminded that they should also remember to ensure compliance with CommsAlliance Code C628:2007 TCP Code.

Compliance takes added significance in light of the ACCC’s recent actions in securing enforceable undertakings against some of Australia’s largest ISPs.

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