[Infowarrior] - NZ brings back 3-strikes proposal

[Richard Forno]

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4622/125/

New Zealand Releases Revamped Three Strikes Proposal
Tuesday December 15, 2009

The New Zealand government has released a revamped three strikes  
proposal that incorporates full court hearings and the possibility of  
financial penalties.  A prior proposal, which would have resulted in  
subscriber access being terminated without court oversight, was  
dropped earlier this year following public protest.  The new proposal  
is essentially a notice-and-notice system where ISPs would be required  
to pass along alleged infringement notices to the subscriber.  After  
the third notice, the rights holder could seek up to $15,000 at the  
Copyright Tribunal for damages sustained.  If the infringements  
continue, the rights holder could go to court to seek suspension of  
the subscriber account for up to six months.

The NZ government proposes to amend its copyright law to give courts  
the power to suspend accounts, taking into account any relevant  
circumstances including multiple users of a shared account, effect on  
business, and vulnerable account holders.  The NZ Cabinet paper also  
notes that the government is currently negotiating ACTA and free trade  
agreements that could require legislative reform.

More @ BoingBoing:  http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/16/three-strikes-law-re.html