Melbourne Law School - Research Publications
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ItemA Bit Liable: A Guide to Navigating the US Secondary Liability Patchwork(Santa Clara University School of Law, 2008)In terms of scholarly and media attention, copyright's secondary liability doctrines long played a bit-part alongside direct liability's leading lady. But since peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing providers began facilitating billions of copyright infringements a decade ago, those unassuming doctrines have been forced into starring roles. This article shines a spotlight on U.S. secondary liability law ten years after it first took center stage, highlighting the myriad uncertainties and controversies that now plague its operation. These uncertainties are illustrated with detailed reference to the hypothetical secondary liability of BitTorrent Inc., the original and as-yet unlitigated provider of the world's most dominant P2P file-sharing tool. This work argues that the rhetoric underpinning the existing secondary liability law is strongly protective of technology, but that the breadth and depth of the uncertainties surrounding its proper application effectively abrogates those protections by stealth.
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ItemKazaa Goes the Way of Grokster? Authorisation of Copyright Infringement Via Peer-To-Peer Networks in Australia(Thomson Reuters, 2006)In Universal Music Australia v Sharman License Holdings (2005) 65 IPR 289 an Australian Federal Court suggested for the first time that it is acceptable to prohibit the continued distribution of a product on the grounds that after its sale it is capable of being used by its purchaser to infringe copyright, even though it may also have non-infringing uses. The decision, currently on appeal to the Full Court, raises important questions about the scope and meaning of the concept of “authorisation” under Australian law. The most important question is whether or not some degree or control is necessary to support a finding of authorisation. This article comprehensively explains the decision and argues that the Full Court could usefully draw upon some aspects of the United States approach to answer the questions raised.
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ItemOn Sony, StreamCast and Smoking Guns(Sweet and Maxwell, 2007)In 2005 the US Supreme Court remanded the landmark Grokster P2P file - sharing case to the California District Court for adjudication. This article looks closely at that remand decision, and the reasoning behind the district court's decision to hold the defendant liable for inducement. It also considers whether the 1984 Supreme Court judgment in Sony Corp of America v. Universal City Studios Inc. would be decided differently if it were it to be decided under today's law. In so doing, it highlights some of the most significant differences between the Grokster Court's two concurrences.
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ItemThe Uncertainties, Baby: Hidden Perils of Australia's Authorisation Law(Thomson Reuters, 2009)As digital copying and online distribution become increasingly prevalent, the issue of when a technology provider can be held liable for its users’ infringements grows commensurately more important. In Australia, such liability is imposed through the tort of authorisation, which provides that a defendant will be liable if it “sanctioned, approved or countenanced” a third party infringement. Despite its significance however, some of the principal elements of the doctrine remain unclear. After tracing the origins and development of authorisation in Australia, the work explores the main uncertainties that plague the law today. With reference to the BitTorrent file sharing software, the work then explicitly highlights the ways in which those uncertainties may affect the provider of a useful technology that has both non-infringing and infringing uses. The underlying theme of the work is that, by failing to unequivocally dismiss the increasingly expansionist arguments that are being raised in this context, courts are inadvertently promulgating a de facto expansion of the Australian authorisation law. It concludes by arguing that, unless courts start concertedly addressing the law’s uncertainties and ambiguities, the law will continue to have a more dampening effect on technological innovation in Australia than courts or the legislature ever intended.
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ItemRewinding Sony: An Inducement Theory of Secondary Liability(Sweet and Maxwell, 2005)Discusses the US Supreme Court ruling in Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer Studios Inc v. Grokster Ltd, which preserved the technology protecting rule established by its earlier decision in Sony Corp of America v. Universal City Studios Inc but failed to clarify its application to peer to peer (P2P) technologies. Reviews the operation of the Sony rule on vicarious and contributory liability in copyright cases, its application in subsequent case law, the Grokster judgment's likely impact on the Sony principles and the remaining areas of uncertainty regarding the revised test to be met by P2P companies seeking to escape secondary liability for inducement of copyright infringement. Reflects on the likely effects of the Grokster ruling for future technologies.
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ItemAvoiding conflict: What do adolescents with disordered eating say about their mothers in music therapy?(SAGE Publications, 2008-06-01)Music therapy is an integral part of the inpatient treatment programme for young women with disordered eating at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. As part of ongoing clinical audit activities, an investigation was undertaken to analyse retrospectively the lyrics of young women who had participated in the music therapy programme. The¬¬¬¬¬¬ purpose was to monitor and improve local clinical practice and clarify the specific contribution of music therapy to the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. Results highlighted the role of mothers in the experiences of the young participants, with references to this relationship exceeding those to any other relationships. These findings are discussed in conjunction with an abandoned study where parental consent was not forthcoming for participation in a group music therapy research project. This article promotes a continuing awareness of the importance of the mother-daughter relationship in the treatment of eating disorders.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableTHE BRUMMAGEM COUP THE START OF SELF-GOVERNMENT IN VICTORIA(ROYAL HISTORICAL SOC VICTORIA, 2006-11-01)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableContempt of Parliament in Victoria(Adelaide Law Review Association, 2005)The wide powers of State Parliaments to punish members and outsiders vary from State to State. Authorities on contempt of Parliament have compared the different jurisdictions, but there has been no specific study of contempt of the Victorian Parliament. Its powers are different from those of the Commonwealth, New South Wales and Tasmanian parliaments, and it has a distinctive record of little-known contempt cases. This article provides an overview of the Victorian Parliament’s powers and the way they have been used.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableNew Federation History(Melbourne University Law Review Association, 2000)