iiTrial costs case likely in June

ISP iiNet may have to wait until June to argue costs stemming from its latest success in a long-running copyright case with the film industry, due to the unavailability of one of three Federal Court judges.

The ISP won the latest round of court proceedings last month after the Federal Court dismissed an appeal by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT).

iiNet chief Michael Malone said last month that the case in its entirety - including the original trial and appeal - had cost the ISP alone some $6.5 million to date. Last year, the ISP reported that the legal costs stemming from the original trial had come to about $3.8 million.

The film industry has not put a price on its legal costs, saying only that they represented a "substantial investment".

One of three judges on the Full Bench of the Federal Court, Justice Arthur Emmett, said today he would not be able to set a date for hearings on costs from the appeal "without consulting other members of the court".

Justice Emmett said that Justice Jayne Jagot was "on leave from the end of April until [start of] June".

Both AFACT and iiNet were asked to submit potential dates for the costs hearings, expected to take up to a day of the court's time.

Evidence on costs was to be filed by April 15. The matter was listed for further directions on April 29.