Optus has lost a Federal Court case in which it tried to stop AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou criticising its new mobile television recording service.
The telecommunications company applied to the Federal Court in Sydney for an urgent injunction to stop Mr Demetriou from repeating his criticisms of Optus’ TV mail service, which lets users record matches to watch on their computers and smart-phones on a short two minute delay. Justice Richard Edmonds dismissed the application and ordered Optus to pay the AFL’s legal costs.
The judge said Mr Demetriou’s recent comments – that suggested the behaviour of Optus was akin to stealing – were not misleading or deceptive, because they were his opinions and did not purport to be a statement of fact. Mr Demetriou said the decision was a victory for free speech and pressed the point that the league should be able to protect its current commercial agreement with Telstra.
