Recently the Federal Court ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to supply the names of the people who illegally downloaded the movie “Dallas Buyers Club”.  The film’s owners have warned thousands of Australians can expect settlement letters following the landmark court ruling.  The decision might scare a few but most people will continue to illegally download.  Besides the law in Australia will only allow the companies to receive damages of up to $20 per movie.

The problem we have in Australia is that the consumers are blatantly ripped off when it comes to purchasing online media content.  We pay higher prices for items purchased from iTunes than American consumers, which seems blatantly unfair.  The government are also looking at implementing GST on online purchases which will drive the prices even higher.  Any threatening legal action from production companies will only force illegal downloaders to take more precautionary measures.  There are a variety of ways for people to illegally download and avoid detection from authorities.  Anyone that is half technology savvy has the ability to avoid being detected.

It is an issue that the companies are finding hard to resolve and the government continues to struggle in keeping up with legislation.  When pirates can easily change their IP address or just watch a movie from an illegal streaming service, it will always prove difficult to enforce the law.  There is also the difficulty of proving that a person has illegally downloaded content.  Is a business liable for damages if a customer has downloaded illegal content on their free wifi?  Is watching an illegal streaming service considered downloading?  Maybe if Australian consumers had cheaper and easier access to media content it would make pirating less appealing.