High Court takes on meaty copyright fight
The High Court’s May sittings open with a case that has media outlets and content creators on high alert over copyright and covert footage.
Animal rights activists will take their long-running campaign against abattoirs to the High Court on Tuesday in a case that could have serious ramifications for whistleblowers and investigative journalism.
Farm Transparency International (FTI) is appealing a 2025 Full Federal Court decision that found copyright in footage filmed while trespassing on the property of the Game Meats Company (GMC) actually belonged to GMC.
The court decided the images were held by FTI on a constructive trust for the benefit of GMC and ordered that they be destroyed. FTI was also ordered to pay $130,000 in damages.
The decision marked a significant shift in the law. The general rule is that copyright in a film or photograph is owned by the maker.
