b'Australias first Anton Piller orderWhen Countdown arrived on Australian television screensmaterials relevant to a court action to prevent them from in 1974 it quickly became a cultural phenomenon, inspiringbeing hidden or destroyed.a generation of music lovers and propelling the careers of hundreds of local and international artists. It also providedDwyer asked the tallest and most robust looking lawyers the backdrop to a significant growth in music piracy.he could find to accompany him to the home of the ringleader. He knocked on the door, armed only with the To protect their industry, the Association of Australianorder and a well-r ehearsed speech. It was answered by a Recording Manufacturers (now the Australian Recordingfearsome gentleman of six foot two, with a finger missing Industry Association) saw the need for concerted action,on each hand. Undeterred, Dwyer launched into his speech, and banded together with CBS Records (now Sony Music),explaining that the order allowed him to enter the mans EMI, Festival Records and others in the industry. Allen Allenhouse. In response, the man pulled back his jacket, removed & Hemsley had acted for CBS Records for many years and ina gun from a holster and pointed the weapon directly at 1976, with a sense of urgency, was asked to represent the group.Dwyer. Dwyer suggested the man might wish to call his lawyer and stepped back onto the footpath to wait. Half The first step was to gather evidence. Teams of paralegalsan hour later the door reopened and the Allens team was purchased counterfeit albums at local markets to traceushered in. the supply chain. Once the ringleader of the operation was identified, Jim Dwyer, who was heading the team for theThe search was a success. The team retrieved everything firm, needed to act quickly to find and preserve evidenceneeded to prove copyright infringement and shut down the clearly demonstrating the piracy. Being a civil dispute, record piracy distribution syndicate a win for the record a police search warrant was not an option, so Dwyercompanies, recording artists and composers. The copyright became the first lawyer in Australia to obtain an Antonissue impacted a range of industries and the outcome was Piller order (now known as a search order). The conceptof great interest to the legal community.had originated just eight months earlier in London in Anton Piller KG v Manufacturing Processes Ltd. It enabled an appointed lawyer to enter private premises to seize 156'