For an Australian Hosted Website: What is a Counter-Notice?

Australian Capital Territory
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What is a counter-notice?

The owner of the Australian hosted website who you have alleged is infringing copyright by serving the Internet Service Provider (ISP) with a Takedown Notice may issue a Counter Notice claiming there has been a mistake and they dispute that the material infringes your copyright.

The Internet Service Providers (ISP) must then restore, or enable access to, the copyright material on its system or network; unless you provide notice, within 10 working days of receiving the Counter-Notice, that you or your agent have commenced legal proceedings seeking a Court order to restrain the activity that is claimed to be infringing.

The prescribed form of the Counter-Notice is contained within Schedule 2 of the Copyright Regulations 2017 (Comm.).

This means that you will need to issue legal proceedings if you want the material to be permanently removed.

It will then be up to the Court to determine whether the publishing of the material on the website is an infringement of copyright or whether there is a valid defence to the claim of infringement of copyright.

Important: If the website can prove that your Takedown Notice was unfounded then you may be liable for damages or other civil penalties.

Please also be aware that it may be a criminal offence to issue a Takedown Notice knowing that it is false or misleading.

Credits:

This FAQ was written by James D. Ford GAICD | Principal Solicitor, Blue Ocean Law Group℠.

Important Notice:

This FAQ is intended for general interest + information only.

It is not legal advice, nor should it be relied upon or used as such.

We recommend you always consult a lawyer for legal advice specifically tailored to your needs & circumstances.