[Infowarrior] - New Copyright Laws Risk Criminalising Everyday Australians

[Richard Forno]

 New Copyright Laws Risk Criminalising Everyday Australians        PDF
http://www.iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=517&Itemid=3
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INTERNET INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, 8 November 2006



New Copyright Laws Risk Criminalising Everyday Australians

The Internet Industry Association today warned that changes to Australia¹s
copyright laws being rushed through Parliament risked making criminals out
of everyday Australians.

The IIA which represents a broad range of internet businesses in Australia,
in conjunction with the QUT Law Faculty Intellectual Property Research
Program, has identified a number of scenarios which could trip up
Australians in their everyday use of copyrighted materials.

Said IIA chief executive, Peter Coroneos: ³We can¹t be sure if this is the
government's intent, or whether there has been a terrible oversight in the
drafting of this Bill. Either way, the consequences for the average
Australian family could be devastating.²

³As an example,² said Mr Coroneos, ³a family who holds a birthday picnic in
a place of public entertainment (for example, the grounds of a zoo) and
sings ŒHappy Birthday¹ in a manner that can be heard by others, risks an
infringement notice carrying a fine of up to $1320. If they make a video
recording of the event, they risk a further fine for the possession of a
device for the purpose of making an infringing copy of a song. And if they
go home and upload the clip to the internet where it can be accessed by
others, they risk a further fine of up to $1320 for illegal distribution.
All in all, possible fines of up to $3960 for this series of acts ­ and the
new offences do not require knowledge or improper intent. Just the doing of
the acts is enough to ground a legal liability under the new Œstrict
liability¹ offences.²

The IIA will next week release a series of Œrisk matrices¹ showing how
Australians could inadvertently risk heavy fines and even jail under the new
copyright regime.

On Monday, the IIA will release a risk matrix showing how teenagers from the
age of 14 years will risk crippling fines and damage to their employment
prospects by engaging in activities which many would today regard as
commonplace.

On Tuesday, the IIA will release a risk matrix which will exemplify how an
average Australian family could sustain massive fines as a consequence of
the operation of these laws.

On Wednesday, the IIA will show how a small business could inadvertently
expose itself to substantial penalties by engaging in activities that to
date have not attracted criminal penalties.

On Thursday, the IIA will demonstrate the risks to ISPs and the emerging
digital economy in Australia and how the new laws will disadvantage us when
compared to other Œtechnology friendly¹ nations.

³We have gone over and over our legal analysis, with the assistance of legal
academics and regulatory experts. Not only can we see no justification for
the severity of the penalties, but the complexity of the new laws will make
it extremely difficult for everyday Australians to avoid a potential
liability ­ and when the level of penalties which attach to the new offences
is understood, the scenarios are pretty terrifying,² Mr Coroneos said.

Professor Brian Fitzgerald, head of the School of Law at QUT added his
concern: ³We assume the new broad ranging laws will be enforced. If the
Government intends that they are not, then we¹d be wanting to know why the
provisions have not been more carefully drafted to target commercial scale
piracy rather than Australian families.²

³The fact that the Government is intent on pushing these amendments through
so fast is very disturbing. The Bill passed the House of Representatives
last week and is due to become law in mid December, with commencement on 1
January 2007,² Professor Fitzgerald said.

Mr Coroneos underlined the IIA¹s position: ³We fully understand the need to
protect copyright - our submission to the Senate Committee begins with that
proposition. The internet needs content and content creators need incentives
to create. But these amendments are overkill and risk delivering a host of
unintended consequences at a time when no other country in the world has
criminal sanctions for non commercial scale infringements.²

³The US Free Trade Agreement does not require Australia to go down this
path, and neither US nor European law contain such far reaching measures. We
at a total loss to understand how this policy has developed, who is behind
it and why there is such haste in enacting it into law ­ with little if any
public debate.²

Ends.

For further comment, please contact:

Peter Coroneos
Chief Executive
Internet Industry Association (IIA)
PO Box 3986 MANUKA  ACT
AUSTRALIA  2603

Phone: +61 2 6232 6900
Fax: +61 2 6232 6513
www.iia.net.au

The Internet Industry Association is Australia's national Internet industry
organisation. Members include telecommunications carriers; content creators
and publishers; web developers; e-commerce traders and solutions providers;
hardware vendors; systems integrators; insurance underwriters; Internet law
firms, ISPs; educational and training institutions; Internet research
analysts; and a range of other businesses providing professional and
technical support services. On behalf of its members, the IIA provides
policy input to government and advocacy on a range of business and
regulatory issues, to promote laws and initiatives which enhance access,
equity, reliability and growth of the medium within Australia.