Wills v Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Wills v Australian Broadcasting Corporation involved a dispute between the plaintiff, Mr Wills, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) regarding alleged copyright infringement. The case was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. Mr Wills alleged that the ABC had broadcast clips from his films without permission, thereby infringing his copyright. The primary judge had previously dismissed the claims, leading to Mr Wills' appeal to the Full Court.

The legal issues in the appeal centered on whether Mr Wills had reasonable prospects of success on his claims and whether the Full Court should admit additional evidence that had not been provided at the trial. The court had to determine if the additional evidence could be admitted under the provisions similar to s 27 of the Act, and if so, whether this would affect the outcome of the appeal. Another issue was the propriety of the notice of appeal, which was deemed incompetent as filed.

The court found that the evidence tendered by Mr Wills, although late, should be admitted as it demonstrated that he had a case that should not be dismissed at that stage. The court also noted that while the notice of appeal was incompetent as filed, leave to appeal should be granted, and the notice should be treated as having been filed pursuant to leave. The Full Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the orders made by the primary judge except for the claim based on "criminal negligence," which was struck out. The court emphasized that its decision should not be interpreted as an endorsement of Mr Wills' conduct or pleadings thus far.

The final orders of the court declared that the notice of appeal was incompetent but granted leave for the appeal to proceed. It treated the notice of appeal as having been filed pursuant to the leave granted. The appeal was allowed, and the orders made by the primary judge were set aside, with the exception of the claim involving criminal negligence, which was dismissed. The case was re-listed for directions for further proceedings.