Several studios are currently taking legal action against Aussie ISP iiNet saying that the outfit is not taking steps to stop its subscribers from sharing files by disconnecting them from the Internet. In the latest move a court has ordered iiNet to hand over the personal details and logs relating to twenty alleged pirates, to anti-piracy group AFACT.

The move represents a small victory for Village Roadshow, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Disney Enterprises, and the Seven Network in the long running case.

AFACT had demanded that iiNet disconnected alleged copyright infringers but the ISP refused so AFACT got an individual to sign up as an iiNet customer and commit a kind of ‘authorized copyright infringement’ in order to gather evidence on alleged pirates.

AFACT then complained to iiNet of this individual’s ‘infringements’ but iiNet took no action against him, boosting the claims that the ISP knew about piracy, but did nothing about it. The information on the pirates will be used in evidence for the case, but the court has ordered information that personally identifies them to be removed.

iiNet has complained that AFACT has refused to hand over documents which would reveal if it made copyright-related demands such as those outlined in this case to ISPs other than iiNet. It is saying that AFACT and its Hollywood paymasters had chosen to pick on one Australian ISP to take action and bully them into submission so that it can claim a victory over the rest.

It wants to know if any other ISPs have agreed to switch off pirates without a court order.