Külföldi torrent oldalak ABNormal | ABN The Loophole That Lets You Get Away With Online Piracy!

Beating the piracy crackdown looks as simple as declaring yourself a home business, without any paperwork.

The clock is ticking on Australia's new three-strikes piracy crackdown, with public submissions on the draft code closing on March 23. While it leaves many unanswered questions, the code makes it very clear that it only applies to fixed-line residential customers, not to mobile internet connections or business internet users.

The decision to exempt businesses from the code is perhaps a practical one to avoid the backlash from companies inundated with warnings due to the behaviour of employees and customers. Just cracking down on residential pirates would still be a huge win for the copyright police, after which they might turn their attention to businesses.

The current major loophole for business internet users bothers the backers of Dallas Buyers Club, who are currently dragging Australian ISP iiNet through the courts over the behaviour of its customers. Today the case was adjourned, with a verdict expected in three weeks, but before that the draft code was cited in court. While iiNet insisted that Australians ISPs would take the code seriously, lawyers for Dallas Buyers Club underplayed its importance – specifically pointing to the exemption for businesses.

The thought that pirates might start their own business just to avoid the copyright crackdown didn't seem very practical to presiding judge Justice Perram;

"So you can evade [the piracy code] by incorporating?" Justice Perram asked today. "You'd have to be pretty serious."

Incorporating does seem extreme, with upfront and ongoing costs, but there is nothing in the code which specifies how large a business needs to be in order to be exempt. In fact with some ISPs you don't need to be a business at all to switch from a residential fixed-line plan to a business plan at home.

A quick ring around reveals that some ISPs will let you switch from a residential plan to a business plan without the need for an Australian Business Number or any other proof that you're some kind of business, rather than a residential user who simply wants to take advantage of a business plan.

Internode's business sales team tells me that it doesn't need to see any proof that you're a business in order to sign up for a business plan. Meanwhile Telstra says that you must produce an ABN or else stay on a residental plan, so obviously policies vary between providers.

With a business plan you pay more but in return – at least with Internode – you get a fixed IP address, improved customer support and a Service Level Agreement. Also, your uploads no longer count towards your monthly limit – which might let you drop down to a cheaper plan. All this would be attractive to plenty of people who consider their home internet connection mission critical for work or play.

It would seem that avoiding the piracy code is only a phone call away for some homes and it will be interesting to see if some ISPs offer business plans with higher download limits to cater to residential users looking to make the switch. Meanwhile copyright holders could find it difficult to close this loophole without placing an unnecessary burden on large business customers. Even if they force ISPs to demand ABNs from their customers, an ABN is free and it's not hard to set yourself up as a sole trader.

Are you on a business internet plan at home? How does it stack up against the residential plans? If not, would you switch to beat the piracy crackdown?

UPDATE: Metadata laws may close piracy loopholes