Aussies Brace for DMCA 121
Rusty writes "Aussies are counting down to the introduction of the US-FTA-required DMCA legislation, and trying to pressure the government to listen to consumers and innovators, not just industrial copyright holders. Linux Australia has kicked off the campaign with iownmydvds.org
and iownmymusic.org."
Hang on a minute... (Score:3, Interesting)
What "US-FTA-required DMCA legislation"? The Australian AG's office only recently published revised copyright information that seemed to be fixing some of the silliness: time-shifting using VCRs, format-shifting of music, etc.
Re:Hang on a minute... (Score:5, Interesting)
Basically: Australia is establishing fair use, and then in the same swoop allowing content holders to take it away through DMCA provisions. The aim of all this is to make the laws as similar as possible to the laws of that great shit heap some like to call the US congress.
This all of course pails in comparison to what the USFTA is doing to Australian healthcare. You Americans bag Canadians public health system but Australia's is one of the best in the world. Since the Australian government buys all drugs, we are able to get them cheaper. But the big med companies don't like that. The only reason America made this trade agreement was to please the pharmaceutical companies. this copyright/patent stuff is just coming along for the ride
Re:Hang on a minute... (Score:4, Interesting)
After you record a show from TV, you are allowed to watch it exactly once, after which you must *by law* delete it.
Yes, we finally get some of the Fair Use rights enjoyed by our US friends but it's not yet sane or sensible.
Re:Leave it to us... (Score:1, Interesting)
You paid good money for your CDs, and you expect to be able to play them anywhere, or transfer them to your iPod - or whatever cool gadget comes out next year. However, if the American music companies get their way, such transfers will be illegal. That's right: you won't be able to play your CDs on your music player!
What's going on here?
The Australia-US Free Trade Agreement requires new laws which prevent "circumvention of technological protection measures". Some companies want the government to go further and ban any access that the copyright owner doesn't allow. This means the music companies can decide how, when and where you listen to your music. Worse still, this law would apply to more than just CDs: games, software and movies are all included under the "technological" umbrella.
Will the record companies give you the choice? For their perspective, we quote Tommi Kyyrä, of IFPI Finland:
"Now, we need to understand that listening to music on your computer is an extra privilege. Normally people listen to music on their car or through their home stereos," said Kyyrä. "If you are a Linux or Mac user, you should consider purchasing a regular CD player."
But I'm no criminal!
Exactly! However, if the Australian Government caves in, you will be breaking the law by transferring songs from any "copy protected" CD you own. Instead, we want the law aimed clearly at piracy, by only banning things which actually infringe copyright.
Act now!
Tell the Government that you want control of your music, now and in the future. Linux Australia has made this easy by preparing a petition (PDF, 470kb) that you can download. By getting as many signatures on the petition as you can, and posting it to the address below you'll be helping ensure that consumers have rights over digital content.
The petition
Follow these 3 easy steps to make your voice heard:
1. Download and print the petition.
2. Collect signatures from friends, family and colleagues - but make sure they haven't already signed it elsewhere.
3. Post the signed petition to:
Don't Ban Innovation Petition
GPO Box 4788
Sydney NSW 2100
AUSTRALIA
More information
This petition is being coordinated by Linux Australia. For more information, contact petition@iownmymusic.org or phone 0417 451 212 (international: +61 417 451 212).
It's not ideal, but at least seems an improvement (Score:5, Interesting)
Yes, I did think that particular example was daft. (I read several of the responses the AG's issues paper [ag.gov.au] and the AG's subsequent comments while preparing a submission of my own for the UK's Gowers review.)
That said, it's a lot less daft than selling VCRs but saying that all time-shifting is illegal, which seemed to be the case before. It might not be ideal, but at least things are going in the right direction. :-)
I thought some of the other provisions, such as the format-shifting I mentioned before, sounded a lot more reasonable.
Do you know what the article here is talking about? Both links were Slashdotted (despite apparently being cache links... go figure) and unless I'm missing something there's nothing mentioned by name to go and look up. What is this new legislation, and how does it fit in with the AG's issues paper and the review of the ACA?
Re:Hang on a minute... (Score:3, Interesting)
How does that differ from any other country's copyright law? You own the medium and a licence to use the content on it in certain limited ways. Some countries specifically allow you to (eg) media- or format-shift the content, some (including the UK and apparently Australia) do not.
However, those that do have such "fair use" clauses do *not* grant you the copyright on anything you buy. The exception to that, of course, is when you enter into a contract with someone which states that you do own the copyright, but that's only because the person or organisation is specifically selling it to you.
Decide Now Media Moguls - Which Way ? (Score:4, Interesting)
A: I buy a DVD, and I own it
B: I buy the rights to play the DVD... I can't copy it, however if I lose it I can walk into a store and take another one free.
Seems reasonable to me...
Wait
If I ever get nabbed for some stupid DMCA law, I'm going to very publicly sell my several thousand dollars of purchased DVDs to pay for some of my defence.
I think that will make the point...
Re:Hang on a minute... (Score:2, Interesting)
H3G+LG could sue their customers for breach of contract, which is a civil law matter. However customers were not informed of the restrictions when purchasing the phones, so no contract was legally entered. This was reported last week on La Repubblica (in Italian).
Re:Hang on a minute... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:FTA Is A Joke (Score:3, Interesting)
Anyone with a rudimentary understanding of economics can tell you that this has more to do with the weakening of the US Dollar versus some sort of sinister plan to infiltrate your market with American goods. Even if you don't understand economics, common sense tells you that if something becomes cheaper, more of it will probably be sold, which is exactly what is happening in this instance. And since the AU $ is now stronger vs. the US $, Americans can afford to buy fewer goods exported from Australia.
Doesn't that sound like a logical explanation?
Usually at this point is when trade protection measures pop up to protect domestic production, so that the cheaper prices of imported goods are offset with either a tariff on the imported good, or a subsidy to the domestic good manufacturers to once again level the playing field... if you keep your eyes open I'm sure you'll see that happening shortly.
Free Trade MY ARSE (Score:3, Interesting)
We got screwed, royally.