Footy codes hail Optus decision

Luke Pentony

Updated April 27, 2012 14:17:59

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou says the Federal Court's ruling that Optus has breached copyright law in broadcasting near live AFL and NRL matches is a victory for Australian sport.

The full bench of the Federal Court of Appeal granted an appeal this morning launched by the AFL, NRL and Telstra against a previous decision that had allowed Optus to broadcast near live matches on its TV Now service.

The Federal Court ruling, handed down in February, had allowed Optus users to watch AFL and NRL fixtures via video streams on mobile devices as close to two minutes behind the live TV broadcast.

The court had ruled that it was the user, as the subscriber, and not Optus who was responsible for streaming the coverage.

The AFL and NRL appealed the decision, arguing it devalued their broadcast rights details. Telstra also appealed, in light of the fact it paid more than $150 million for the right to stream AFL matches on the internet.

The Federal Court of Appeal stated today it was Optus, as well as the user, who was responsible for the recording of matches and therefore it had breached copyright law.

Demetriou says it is not just the AFL who has walked away as a winner following the Federal Court's decision.

"The decision was unanimous, it was clear-cut," he said.

"It was a relief, not just for the AFL but I'm sure for all sporting codes, who rely heavily on these rights and the revenue which come from these rights, which we all plough back into our codes.

"Whether that [is] through the codes itself, facilities, grassroots programs, development. These are significant revenues, which we all rely on and I think today's decision is certainly a win for all sports in this country."

Demetriou feels the AFL is vindicated by today's decision, although he admits the league had experienced some anxious moments.

"The fact we've had to go through two court cases with considerable expense hasn't been a pleasant time," he said.

"The uncertainty hasn't been pleasant, but we were always confident that this decision would come down today because we believe we were right.

"We believe it protects content holders, we believe the copyright act has now withstood this action by Optus and I think we can all move forward and continue to invest in our codes."

Demetriou says Optus' behaviour was "reprehensible" and he has called on the telecommunications rival to "concentrate on their core business".

"I've said previously that I thought Optus' behaviour was unethical, I thought it was improper, inappropriate," he said.

"They've never engaged with the AFL in relation to our rights. I don't plan in the future that they would and it will be a long time before we speak to Optus."

Demetriou says Optus will have think "very carefully about challenging the decision", suggesting an appeal will prove "costly".

Optus spokeswoman Clare Gill says her organisation may proceed with an appeal to the High Court.

"We have to look at all our options, which will include an appeal," she said.

The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) has also welcomed today's ruling, as it looks to negotiate its next broadcast deal and take advantage of its solid TV ratings.

"We have always believed there was a clear principle in play here: that the sports are entitled to control who shows their events and who profits from those events," ARLC chief executive David Gallop said in a statement.

"Companies should not be able to profit from our content without investing in the sport itself."

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, rugby-league, nrl, australia

First posted April 27, 2012 13:29:06

View the original article here

Optus loses court row with AFL chief

Updated February 28, 2012 16:31:12

Optus has lost a Federal Court case in which it tried to stop AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou criticising its new mobile television recording service.

The telecommunications company applied to the Federal Court in Sydney for an urgent injunction to stop Demetriou from repeating his criticisms of Optus' TV Now service, which lets users record matches to watch on their computers and smartphones on a short delay.

Justice Richard Edmonds dismissed the application and ordered Optus to pay the AFL's legal costs.

The judge said Demetriou's recent comments that the behaviour of Optus was akin to stealing were not misleading or deceptive, because they were his opinions and did not purport to be a statement of fact.

Demetriou told ABC Local Radio it was a victory for free speech and argued that the league should be able to protect its commercial agreement with Telstra.

"They are not paying for our content and purporting to be the champion of consumers when they're really charging them," he said.

"And they've got a clearly inferior product to Telstra and it's a disgrace, and now that this court case has been put to bed it's a victory for free speech."

Tags: business-economics-and-finance, telecommunications, sport, australian-football-league, australia, vic

First posted February 28, 2012 13:49:24

View the original article here

Appeals lodged against Optus copyright ruling

By court reporter Jamelle Wells, wires

Updated February 10, 2012 19:05:48

Telstra and Australia's two biggest football codes have appealed against a Federal Court ruling that lets Optus record matches shown on free-to-air television and replay them to customers.

In a landmark Federal Court case earlier this month, Optus was found to have not breached copyright over Telstra's lucrative deal with the NRL and AFL to broadcast live matches on the internet.

Customers using Optus's TV Now are able to record free-to-air television from their smartphone or computer and watch it with a delay as little as two minutes.

In his ruling, Justice Steven Rares found TV Now users had themselves made the recording of the matches, similar to when a person used a video or digital recorder.

He also found the recordings were being made for private and domestic use and that users were responsible for making available the recording, not Optus.

This was allowed under an exception in the Copyright Act.

But in a joint-submission lodged on Friday, Telstra and the AFL said Justice Rares erred in his judgment.

"The judge erred in finding that the service that Optus TV Now offers the user is substantially no different from a VCR or DVR," the notice of appeal said.

The NRL has filed a separate submission, with a hearing set down for April 18.

Media analysts have said the Federal Court ruling makes multi-million-dollar exclusive rights deals worthless.

Telstra has exclusive online broadcast rights for both the AFL and NRL.

The ruling could seriously reduce the NRL's next television deal as the code prepares to renegotiate its broadcasting rights.

ABC/AAP

Tags: copyright, information-and-communication, australian-football-league, nrl, rugby-league, television-broadcasting, courts-and-trials, telecommunications, australia, wa, vic, sa, qld, nsw

First posted February 10, 2012 15:05:22

View the original article here

Optus wins landmark TV rights case

By court reporter Jamelle Wells

Updated February 02, 2012 01:12:20

A landmark Federal Court case has found Optus did not breach copyright by showing sports online with its new TV Now service.

TV Now lets Optus customers record free-to-air television from their smartphone or computer and watch it on the same devices with a delay as little as two minutes.

Justice Steven Rares found Optus did not breach any copyright related to Telstra's deal with the NRL and AFL to broadcast live matches on the internet.

The judge cited "time-shifting provisions" in the Copyright Act that let people record shows and watch them later.

Any appeal against the judgment is not likely until after the NRL and AFL seasons start next month.

The AFL, NRL and Telstra have been ordered to pay Optus's court costs.

The judge noted that some other issues in the case might still need to be resolved.

"These include whether Optus infringes copyright because the technology used to make a recording in the format suitable for certain Apple devices creates and stores six temporary files of 10 seconds duration every minute and then deletes the first 10-second file as the latest one is added one minute later," he said.

Justice Rares also said the case was not fully over until the parties resolved the matter of near-live streaming.

The parties agreed to treat the issue separately.

In a statement, the AFL expressed its disappointment at the decision.

"We maintain that the Optus action is a breach of copyright," AFL chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan said.

"However, we are only in the preseason of this issue - it is highly likely we will appeal."

NRL boss David Gallop says the decision is "very likely" to be appealed.

"It is a major concern as it clearly has the capacity to devalue the ability of the sports to sell exclusive rights," he said.

Optus spokeswoman Clare Gill says the company is extremely pleased with decision.

"For us it's always been about free-to-air television, recording it and playing it back at a time more convenient, that's how we developed the product," she said.

"It was not category-specific in anything to do with the categories of television, whether it be light entertainment, documentaries, news or sport.

"Optus is committed to delivering choice and convenience to Australians and the result of the TV Now court proceedings is a major win for consumers, innovation and the law."

Tags: television, arts-and-entertainment, australian-football-league, sport, nrl, rugby-league, courts-and-trials, law-crime-and-justice, australia

First posted February 01, 2012 16:49:02

View the original article here

AFL to fight Optus broadcast ruling

Updated February 02, 2012 19:42:41

The AFL has vowed to take every legal avenue available to protect its multi-million dollar broadcast rights deal with Telstra, but its fight might take up to two years.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has warned Telstra's rival Optus that its victory in the Federal Court allowing it to broadcast recorded matches on mobile platforms would be shortlived.

The AFL, NRL and Telstra will appeal the judgement which blurs the AFL's $153 million deal with the telco and throws the NRL's ongoing negotiations into jeopardy.

"We will have our day yet again. We will go through the proper legal processes and exploit all of our avenues through appeal," Demetriou said.

"They can crow all that they like today, but this has a long way to play out."

Demetriou said Telstra had indicated it would honour its five-year agreement. Telstra, however, could not confirm its commitment.

Copyright lawyer David Brennan believes even if the leagues and Telstra successfully appeal, Optus would then take it to the High Court which could restore the original judgment.

The ultimate action for the sporting codes and Telstra is for federal parliament to change the out-of-date legislation to keep up with technology and tighten up the exclusivity of broadcast deals.

But Mr Brennan says any change to the Copyright Act could take as long as two years to get through parliament, but the lobbying will begin immediately.

Although Telstra holds exclusive internet broadcast rights for the AFL and NRL, Justice Steven Rares ruled on Wednesday that Optus customers can record any free-to-air TV program and play it on mobile devices at a later time, even as soon as two minutes after the program begins.

Brennan said many issues in Justice Rares' ruling were contestable.

"Until there's an appeal, I don't think anyone can be really confident as to what the law of the land is," he said.

"If I was Optus I wouldn't be building my house entirely on the strength of this judgement. Everyone involved would be prudent to wait until that is settled."

Optus chief executive Paul O'Sullivan said the decision was about consumers' rights.

"Yesterday's decision continues to allow millions of Australians to record and play back free to air TV at their convenience - just as they have done since the VCR arrived in Australia and continue to do so today via emerging digital services like TiVo, Play TV and Foxtel IQ," O'Sullivan said.

But Demetriou was adamant Optus was breaching copyright and jeopardising sports which rely on millions of dollars from broadcast rights.

"We are absolutely entitled to protect our content and exploit our content," Demetriou told ABC Radio on Thursday.

"What we do as a not-for-profit organisation is if we derive returns, we reinvest it into our code.

"We will do everything in our power, everything, to make sure that we protect our content, because that's what it is, it's ours.

"When you have a situation where Optus seek to try and use our content without ever undertaking one discussion with the AFL, that is where we say we think it's a breach of our copyright."

The NRL's 2013-2017 agreement will be finalised this year, but the league is concerned the ruling will impact on cash strapped clubs desperately waiting for a windfall from a new deal.

Cricket Australia, which has a deal with Vodafone, said it will assess the ruling.

The Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports (COMPPS), a lobby group which represents the AFL, NRL, ARU, Cricket Australia, FFA, Tennis Australia and Netball Australia, said changing legislation was the most likely solution.

"Certainly key ministers are aware of the situation and the problems it creates for sport," COMPPS executive director Malcolm Speed said.

Speed said coalition members have discussed the issue and will work out their response in addition to the appeal from the AFL, NRL and Telstra which is likely to be lodged within a week.

AAP

Tags: nrl, rugby-league, australian-football-league, sport, telecommunications, industry, business-economics-and-finance, australia

First posted February 02, 2012 19:32:25

View the original article here