iiNet refutes AFACT case ‘delay’ claims

A spokesperson for iiNet told iTnews that "under no circumstances [had it] attempted to delay the Court proceedings for the current case involving the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT)".

AFACT last week claimed a victory after hearings were brought forward and the amount of time allocated to the case was doubled.

At the time, the Federation said the allocation increase was a response to attempts by iiNet to delay the case.

The ISP now denies the claims.

"The reason the court dates were adjusted from February 2010 to November 2009 is that more dates became available, not due to a request made by AFACT," the iiNet spokesperson said.

"This arrangement suits us, so we have no reason to object.

"Whilst the judge may consult with both parties to discuss availability (which could be influenced by factors such as other court cases), the case's timetable is set by the courts - neither party has the authority to alter this.

"The only delays to the court process have been due to claim adjustments on AFACT's part."

The latest so-called adjustment removed a claim called 'conversion' from the case.

Conversion suggests that iiNet turned the benefits of holding the copyrights to its own advantage by allegedly allowing customers to illegally download copies of the films over its network.

iiNet was "awarded costs for the cost of developing our defence against this claim and were given time to amend our defence accordingly" after it was pulled, the spokesperson said.

The case is due back before the Federal Court on June 9.