New Copyright Laws

[Dale61]

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,19136581%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html

[HAL]

Can you speak any foreign languages? ""? newsdot comdot auarticles0720419136581%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E00? Quite honestly, I wouldn't worry myself about that.

[Culprit]

Aussies have never been worried about copyright. Next to the Chinese we are the piracy captial per capita of population. Must be in our convict nature.

[David]

[Dale61]

It's always been illegal, just that it's been overlooked all this time.

[KYPREO]

very welcome move. I made a submission to the Attorney-General in relation to these proposed amendments last year - IMO they ought to go a little further.

Breach of copyright means reproducing the whole or a substantial part of a work without the author's permission. Under the current system the only defences available are basically: fair use for educational purposes (ie photocopying parts of a textbook) and fair use for reporting (ie tv news reproducing copyright photos/letters/articles etc).

The current system is rubbish because yes taping off the TV is illegal, so is burning back ups or taping off CDs you legitimately purcharsed. In fact, iPods and iTunes software is basically illegal because format shifting CD tracks into AAC format is unauthorised copying. The only "legal" way of using an iPod is purchasing tracks online.

We have just a whole bunch of new strict protections for copyright holders as part of the Free Trade Agreement with the US, but without the fair use defence for personal use like they have.

This should have been done 30 years ago.

The only thing left to do is the following. Currently you cannot circumvent a copyright protection device (eg DVD encryption, Playstation region chips etc). Now we will have a personal use defence you should be able to circumvent copyright protection if its for personal use. It's ridiculous that you should be robbed of your right to make backup copies of DVDs because it's illegal to decrypt their code.

[Eunos]

[KYPREO]

True but the Copyright Act will be substantially different from that decided in Stevens because of the Aus-US FTA. Stevens all began 4 years ago and much has changed. My understanding of the new provisions is that you cannot override effective technology measures that prevent access to a device.

Assuming you burned your own backup DVD of a game, which you legitimately purchased, and then circumvented a copyright protection measure to play that DVD, would the fair use defence apply? US precedent suggests it wouldn't, just as in the US you cannot use de-CSS software to decrypt DVD coding, even though that is necessary in order to enjoy a fair use right to make personal back up copies.

[wasteofspace]

I dont even have a legal copy of my birth certificate, let alone a valid copy of WinXP