Thursday, 11 December 2014 06:27

Develop anti-piracy scheme or we’ll do it for you Featured

By

The Government has issued an ultimatum to ISPs to work with content owners and distributors to develop a code that will enable digital pirates to be prosecuted.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Attorney General George Brandis have written to ISPs, telcos, copyright owners and content distributors telling them to develop an anti-piracy code or have one forced upon them.

The letter is published here. It tells all parties they have until 8 April 2015 to develop a code that will enable the enforcement of sanctions against people who infringe copyright by downloading content from illegal sources.

If they do not come up with a code, “the Government will prescribe binding arrangements either by an industry code prescribed by the Attorney-General … or an industry standard prescribed by the ACMA … on such terms as agreed by us.

“The Government would like all parties to collaborate to develop an agreed voluntary code. However, if an industry code is not voluntarily developed, the Government will direct the ACMA to develop and apply an industry standard. The ACMA can direct an industry participant to comply with an industry code. Compliance with an industry standard is mandatory.”

The industry has not previously been able to develop such a code – the sticking point has always been who will pay for the implementation and enforcement.

ISPs essentially say that rights holders should pay, as they are the ones who will benefit financially if people pay for content rather than pirate it. And rights holders say ISPs should pay, because it is their networks that are being used to perform these acts of piracy.

Those problems are likely to remain. The Government’s letter says the code should “fairly apportion costs as between ISPs and rights holders,” but those two groups have a very different view on just what is ‘fair’.

StatCounter - Free Web Tracker and Counter

Turnbull has written a major piece on his website on the subject, including a detailed ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section – which in this case does indeed lists questions that are frequently asked. He says the Government has sought the “least burdensome and most flexible way of responding to concerns about online copyright infringement, while protecting the legitimate interests of the rights holders in the protection of their intellectual property.”

The letter lists a number of features that the Government expect the code to contain. ISPs must take “reasonable steps” to deter online copyright infringement on their network. This is not spelt out, but the letter does say that it should include the development of an education and warning notice scheme.

ISPs should then inform consumers of the implications of copyright infringement and legitimate alternatives that provide affordable and timely content. Then the code should “include a process for facilitated discovery to assist rights holders in taking direct copyright infringement action against a subscriber after an agreed number of notices.”

In other words, it is up to the ISP to identify copyright infringers, then advise rights holders as to who they are. The rights holders can then initiate their own action against the infringers. This is similar to the ‘three strikes’ system in use in New Zealand, and was always Turnbull’s preferred option.

This approach has been the subject of much debate in Australia over the last six months, including a robust public forum arranged by Turnbull (CommsWire, 10 September 2014). Now the Government is essentially mandating it.

“The Minister and the Attorney-General expect strong collaboration between rights holders, ISPs and consumers on this issue.”

The Government also said it will amend the Copyright Act to enable rights holders to apply for a court order requiring ISPs to block access to a website, operated outside of Australia, which provides access to infringing content. This approach, designed primarily to shut down Bit Torrent websites like The Pirate Bay, has been shown to be largely ineffective.

“In a world of rapid changes in technology and human behaviour, there is no single measure that can eliminate online copyright infringement,” says Turnbull. “In light of this the Government will review the measures 18 months after they are implemented, to assess their effectiveness.”

The Government also pays lip service to what has been shown to be the main cause of piracy the reluctance of many rights holders to make content more easily available. Here’s one of Turnbull’s FAQs:

Q: The IT pricing inquiry provided recommendations to improve consumer access to digital services, why hasn’t the Government responded?

  • The Inquiry raised significant public awareness of the issue of price disparity and brought to the attention of Australians a range of options and opportunities available to level the playing field.
  • The Government agrees that Australian consumers should be empowered to seek out goods and services at the best available price, consistent with the measures being introduced for online copyright.
  • There are also a number of other processes underway within Government including the Competition Policy Review (the Harper Review) and the Government’s consideration of its response to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s report into Copyright in the Digital Economy.
  • The Government is currently considering the response to the IT pricing inquiry and will table it shortly.

… and another:

Q: Many Australians use a VPN to access Netflix in the US. Is it illegal for me to use a VPN to access Netflix?

  • The Copyright Act does not make it illegal to use a VPN to access overseas content.
  • While content providers often have in place international commercial arrangements to protect copyright in different countries or regions, which can result in ‘geoblocking’, circumventing this is not illegal under the Copyright Act.

Turnbull also addresses the issue, raised by some people, as to whether the Government’s recently introduced data retention legislation be used to police copyright infringement

“The data retention legislation is vital for law enforcement and national security, not for copyright enforcement. The Telecommunications Act 1979 regulates access to data for law enforcement and security purposes, not civil matters, and it is a matter for the rights holder to pursue an infringement of copyright.

“The proposed data retention regime will not change the existing arrangements for access to telecommunications data.”

Read 4954 times

Please join our community here and become a VIP.

Subscribe to ITWIRE UPDATE Newsletter here
JOIN our iTWireTV our YouTube Community here
BACK TO LATEST NEWS here




WOMEN IN PROCESS MINING VIRTUAL EVENT

Enterprises are looking to integrate AI into process mining to future proof their operations.

The recently formed Australian chapter of Women in Process Mining (WIPM) is hosting a Zoom event from 1pm to 2pm on November 14 on the topic Using AI for Process Optimisation.

WIPM is a community designed for women in process mining; to strengthen their leadership, magnify their influence, and pave the way for process mining together.

The event is being hosted by Chapter Leads Kanika Goel, PhD, Claudia M., and Susana Zavaleta, with special guest speaker Jack Basley from global process mining leader Celonis

Register for the Zoom event now!

REGISTER!

PROMOTE YOUR WEBINAR ON ITWIRE

It's all about Webinars.

Marketing budgets are now focused on Webinars combined with Lead Generation.

If you wish to promote a Webinar we recommend at least a 3 to 4 week campaign prior to your event.

The iTWire campaign will include extensive adverts on our News Site itwire.com and prominent Newsletter promotion https://itwire.com/itwire-update.html and Promotional News & Editorial. Plus a video interview of the key speaker on iTWire TV https://www.youtube.com/c/iTWireTV/videos which will be used in Promotional Posts on the iTWire Home Page.

Now we are coming out of Lockdown iTWire will be focussed to assisting with your webinars and campaigns and assistance via part payments and extended terms, a Webinar Business Booster Pack and other supportive programs. We can also create your adverts and written content plus coordinate your video interview.

We look forward to discussing your campaign goals with you. Please click the button below.

MORE INFO HERE!

BACK TO HOME PAGE
Graeme Philipson

Graeme Philipson sadly passed away in Jan 2021 and he was always a valued senior associate editor at iTWire. He was one of Australia’s longest serving and most experienced IT journalists. He is the author of the only definitive history of the Australian IT industry, ‘A Vision Splendid: The History of Australian Computing.’He was in the high tech industry for more than 30 years, most of that time as a market researcher, analyst and journalist. He was founding editor of MIS magazine, and is a former editor of Computerworld Australia. He was a research director for Gartner Asia Pacific and research manager for the Yankee Group Australia. He was a long time weekly IT columnist in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, and is a recipient of the Kester Award for lifetime achievement in IT journalism. Graeme will be sadly missed by the iTWire Family, Readers, Customers and PR firms.

Share News tips for the iTWire Journalists? Your tip will be anonymous

Subscribe to Newsletter

*  Enter the security code shown: img0

WEBINARS & EVENTS

CYBERSECURITY

PEOPLE MOVES

GUEST ARTICLES

Guest Opinion

ITWIRETV & INTERVIEWS

RESEARCH & CASE STUDIES

Channel News

Comments