iiNet has won the case brought against it, with new EFF poster boy Justice Cowdroy ruling that while iiNet subscribers may have infringed copyright, iiNet did not authorise them to do so.

The internet's new favourite quote is: "the law recognises no positive obligation on any person to protect the copyright of another," perhaps the best explanation of why it has been so difficult for copyright enforcement agencies to do their job on the internet.

That's the good new.

The bad news is that the same court has found that not only does Larrikin music own the copyright to the song Kookaburra, but that their copyright was infringed by Men At Work's song Down Under:

"I have come to the view that the 1979 recording and the 1981 recording of Down Under infringe Larrikin's copyright in Kookaburra because both of those recordings reproduce a substantial part of Kookaburra," he said.

Damages are to be calculated at a later date. They are expected to be large. However, it needs to be said that:

• Larrikin did not write Kookaburra.
• Larrikin claim to have bought the copyright to the song in 1990, well after Down Under was released.
• It took almost 20 years to notice their copyright had been infringed, despite Down Under being a very well known song worldwide.
• When Marion Sinclair wrote the song in the 1930s she donated it to the Girl Guides who continue to use the song worldwide. It was never intended to be used by anyone other than the Girl Guides.
• Although a substatial part of Kookaburra was infringed, the melody to Kookaburra would be less than 10 seconds long (repeated).

I hope all of these facts are taken into account when damages are calculated.