Australia Overhauls Law
12.05.06 - 09:54am
The copyright law originally set in Australia has been overhauled with amendments to protect ordinary Australians in place. “The Government has listened to the Senate Committee and stakeholders and has improved the effectiveness of the reforms,” Attorney General Phillip Ruddock said in a statement.
The reforms now allow consumers to transfer music they own onto devices such as iPods, and also to record TV shows for later viewing. It also provides exceptions for schools, universities and other cultural institutions to use copyright material for non-commercial purposes. People with disabilities also have exceptions and one can copyright material for parody or satire.
Under the old law, lip syncing a song and recording it would have been enough to land one in jail. Simply owning an iPod or DVD recording device could have been unlawful with large fines. Professor Brian Fitzgerald, head of the Queensland University of Technology’s school of law, went as far as saying: “These new provisions have the potential to make everyday Australians in homes and businesses across the country into criminals on a scale that we have not witnessed before.”
While still not totally satisfied with the amendments Dale Clapperton, vice-chairman of the non-profit organization Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) stated “It’s now a lot less likely that your average end-user will be at risk of these criminal provisions or at risk of getting an infringement notice for engaging in everyday activity.”
The law still retains harsh penalties for those copyrighting music or video for commercial gain.
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