Australia takes action on illegal movie downloads

Internet service providers have lost an Australian court battle to keep secret the names of users suspected of illegally downloading Hollywood film Dallas Buyers Club over file-sharing networks.

The Federal Court ruling is a landmark win for copyright holders in a country which has a reputation for being home to some of the world’s most prolific internet pirates.

Justice Nye Perram granted a discovery order sought by the 2013 film’s copyright owner Dallas Buyers Club LLC to access names and home addresses of over 4,700 Australian internet account holders.