Rudd eyes piracy

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has remained coy on the issue of illegal downloading, but said that if laws preventing piracy weren't being interpreted correctly by the courts, he would see what the government could do.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
(Credit: Commonwealth Government)

Last night, Rudd was asked by an audience member on ABC TV's Q&A program what the government's position was on young people's desire to access affordable entertainment versus an artist's right to protect their creative output.

"It's a hard one," Rudd said. "What is intellectual copyright? What is the rights of artists who own their property? And what are the laws which prevent the sort of free dissemination of that?

"I can't say ... where [there] is a dividing line up the middle."

He did, however, say that he would look at the laws.

"If the laws aren't, through the courts, being interpreted in a particular way ... then we'll have a look at the decision and see what we can do," he said.

"Getting this balance right is important."

His comments came following a recent court case between internet service provider iiNet and the film industry. The film industry alleged iiNet had "authorised" illegal downloads on its network. Last week, Federal Court Judge Justice Dennis Cowdroy ruled that was not the case.