News Archives

 


Copyright Amendment Act passed 11 December 2006

The Copyright Amendment Bill was passed on 11 December 2006 . Outlined below are some of the key changes that were introduced:

  • Provision for individuals to format shift (eg copy your CD onto an MP3 player) and time shift (eg record television program to watch
    at a later time)
  • A fair dealing parody and satire exception
  • Definition of 'library' that includes libraries whose collections are accessible to the public
  • Provision for 'key cultural institutions' to make preservation copies
  • A new flexible dealing exception applying in 'certain special cases' for libraries, educational institutions and archives under section 200AB
  • New criminal offence provisions
  • Civil remedies and criminal penalties for circumvention of an access control Technological Protection Measure (TPM) and exceptions to the TPMs scheme
  • Some changes to the Copyright Tribunal

Further detailed information on the changes will be provided through our mailing list soon.

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Copyright Amendment Bill 2006

The Copyright Amendment Bill 2006 was introduced into Parliament and referred to a Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee for review. The mega-Bill contains provisions relating to copyright exceptions, TPMs, enforcement provisions, and the Copyright Tribunal.

The ALCC provided a written submission to both the Attorney-General's Department and the Senate LACA Committee, and the Copyright Adviser also appeared before the Committee to provide further evidence in relation to the current provisions in the Bill.

The ALCC submission in relation to the copyright exceptions and the transcript of the Senate LACA public hearing can be viewed here.

The joint ADA/ALCC submission in relation to the TPM provisions can be viewed here.

(These submissions are also available on the ALCC site here)

Further information will be sent to ALCC members by the ADA wrap and also the ALCC Copyright Bulletin.

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Orphaned Works Forum: 22 May 2006

Many libraries and cultural institutions struggle with copyright issues in relation to 'orphaned works', works where the creator is not known or not locatable. In recognition of this significant problem within institutions, the Government in February announced it would be conducting a review of the issue in 2006.

On 22 May 2006, the ALCC together with CICI hosted a joint forum which looked at the issue of orphan works in libraries and cultural institutions in Australia, and considered options for reform and how best to move forward in light of the upcoming Government review.

The program of the day is available here

Recordings of presentations given at that forum are now available to download:

  • Erin Driscoll, (Chair, Copyright In Cultural Institutions Group, Legal Officer, Australian Film Commission), provided an overview of the orphan works problem, including views provided to previous Government reviews & capitalise.
    [Download mp3] (Approximate time: 15 Minutes)
  • Margy Burn, (Assistant Director General, Australian Collection and Readers Services, National Library of Australia), gave a presentation about the issue of orphans from the perspective of libraries.
    [Download MP3] (Approximate time: 10 minutes)
  • Paul Dalgleish, (Assistant Director, Reference Policy and Standards, National Archives of Australia), presented a perspective from the archives sector.
    [Download MP3] (Approximate time: 10 minutes)
  • Elizabeth Jamieson (Manager, Collection Access) and Rodney Butler (Assistant Manager, Collection Access), National Film and Sound Archive, Australian Film Commission, provided a joint presentation illustrating issues within institutions holding audiovisual items.
    [Download MP3] (Approximate time: 10 minutes)
  • Leanne Handreck, (Manager, Imaging Services, National Gallery of Australia), gave a presentation about the issue of orphans from the perspective of galleries and museums.
    [Download MP3] (Appromiate time: 10 minutes)
  • Emily Hudson, (Research Fellow, Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia and Centre for Media and Communications Law, University of Melbourne), gave a synthesis of the legal and practical reasons for the orphan works problem.
    [Download MP3] (Approximate time: 45 minutes)
  • Matthew Rimmer, (Senior Lecturer in Law, Australian National University; IP Committee Member, Australian Libraries Information Association; Board Member, Australian Digital Alliance) provided an overview of available models to deal with the orphan works issue, and an analysis of options for reform for Australia.
    [Download MP3] (Approximate time: 50 minutes)
  • Link to US Copyright Office Report on Orphan Works: http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/
  • Link to the Copyright Board of Canada advice on unlocatable copyright works:
    http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/unlocatable/index-e.html

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House Of Representatives has Released Report on TPM Exceptions

On 1 March 2006 the House of Representatives Legal And Constitutional Affairs Committee, which conducted an inquiry in relation to technological protection measures exceptions, tabled its report in Parliament.

The ALCC has welcomed the report, which, amongst other things, recognises the importance of the exceptions required for libraries, archives and cultural institutions, and of retaining a direct link between access control and copyright protection in the implementation of the AUSFTA provisions.

A summary of the Committee's findings is available in the Jan/Feb edition of the ADA wrap.

Google Print Library Project: A Strong Argument For Fair Use?

The Google Print Library Project has attracted much media attention in recent months. An interesting debate entitled "Google: Infinite Library, Copyright Pirate, or Monopolist?" was held in Canberra on 9 December. The audio files of this debate can be accessed on the ANU websitehere and short editorial snippets of the debate can also be viewed on the OpenDemocracy website here

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More AUSFTA related Copyright Law Reviews:

TPMs

The Government has requested the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs to review whether further exceptions to the ban on Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) are required.

Submissions, including the ADA/ALCC submission, and more information about the review and public hearings, are now available on the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee's Website

ISPs

The Attorney-General's Department is also currently reviewing whether the scope of the definition of 'Carriage Service Provider' should be expanded, for the purposes of the Copyright Act & Regulations, to extend the safe-harbour scheme which came into effect on 1 January 2005, more broadly to online service providers.

For a copy of the issues paper, please contact the Attorney-General's Department.

Submissions are due on 10 October 2005.

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Review of Fair Dealing on Government's Agenda

On 18 February 2005, the Attorney-General announced that in accordance with the Government's election commitments, his Department would be undertaking a review of fair dealing and the exceptions to copyright infringement more broadly.

On 5 May 2005, the Attorney-General's Department released an issues paper; "Fair Use and Other Copyright Exceptions: An examination of fair use, fair dealing and other exceptions in the Digital Age", calling for submissions and initiating this review. This paper can be found here

The ALCC made a submission to the Attorney-General's Review . The ALCC also endorsed in full the ADA submission to this review.

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