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October 19, 2006
Feeding the rich
As one of the links in the previous post from Stephen indicate, we have known for a long time that our Attorney General "Alice" Ruddock, doesn't have a clue. It really doesn't surprise us that after a long review process, with lots of public submissions, he's managed to come up with a law that doesn't do what it's supposed to do.
As copyright lawyer Kim Weatherall pointed out (and The Age picked up on) his department have cleverly drafted the new law so that it doesn't deliver what we thought we were getting - the basic right to enjoy the digital entertainment we've paid for.
Spend a little time reading Kim's other posts, however, and you'll emerge thorougly depressed. They indicate that "Alice" and/or his officers seem to have embarked on a campaign to deliver copyright holders benefits that no other country would even contemplate.
Among other horrors, they are now proposing to introduce offences of strict liability in our copyright law - "offences for certain commercial dealings in copyright material which do not require proof that the person knew they were dealing with infringing material" which by the way do not exist in the UK or the US, or Europe . They propose to impose on-the-spot fines of $1320 for copyright infringements ... say, for instance, playing or singing copyright music at a wedding or other function held in a place of public entertainment, or selling your iPod without first removing all the music.
They appear to have compromised our ability to protect ourselves from such things as the Sony root kit fiasco.
And Kim notes that the Nine Network's case against the Ice TV program guide, couldn't have got off the ground in the US or Europe. Only Australia offers such protection to copyright owners, and denies its citizens facilities like TiVo, which the US and UK have enjoyed for years.
There's a consistent thread here, isn't there? That other brilliant minister, Coonan the Barbarian, suddenly discovers that - whoops - that little bit of legislation that completely destroys the pathetic remnants of media diversity in this country just happened to deliver a multi-billion-dollar bonanza to Jamie Packer and other media barons, and has to check to see if it's legal. Of course it's legal, Minister. That's the entire bloody point, isn't it?
Posted by cw at October 19, 2006 12:27 PM
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Comments
*Cries*
It just makes you so angry and sad, and then angry again. Especially if ICE guide goes under. It was the best last hope for TivV-like love in here.
I think if it does I'll have to stop myself from crying every time someone on a US TV show says "That's OK, my TiVo recorded it."
Posted by: lamul at October 20, 2006 05:51 PM