Anyone in Australia that pirated the Oscar-winning film, Dallas Buyers Club, might be forced to pay up following a court win by Voltage Pictures allowing them to tap into the various internet service providers in the country and get information on the pirates.

It's one of the first times a film studio has been given the right to check information on ISP customers. Courts normally block these attempts under the Data Protection Act alongside other privacy laws that bar anyone from accessing private information.

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iiNet, Dodo, Internode, Amnet Broadband, Adam Internet and Wideband Networks will all have to comply with Voltage Pictures search, although the other ISPs may be able to cause a fuss to make it hard for Voltage to acquire the information.

iiNet is concerned that such a development would open the floodgates to further claims by other rights-holders. The decision could lead to more Australians being intimidated to pay exorbitant amounts in an attempt to avoid improbable litigation, said chief regulatory officer Steve Dalby in October.

There are other issues Voltage will have to address before it can start the search, like why it's using a German-based software program Mavericks Monitor to trick users into downloading illegal copies of films.

The Australian board has already confirmed Voltage will not be able to randomly check records of ISP customers. Instead, Voltage must find probable cause before being able to see any information. Since Mavericks Monitor works on IP, it might be even harder to find the culprit since houses share IPs.

It might be some time before we see the first arrest or accusation from Voltage against a pirate in Australia considering the safeguards already put up and the lack of probable cause.

Voltage has been known for petty cases against small numbers of pirates or even individuals in some cases claiming thousands of dollars worth of lost revenue. It has gotten them a black mark that usually means getting kicked out of court early, but for some reason the Australian court allowed them to proceed with this search for pirates in the country.

TagsAustralia, Dallas Buyers Club, Piracy, iiNet, Maverick Monitor, Voltage Pictures