Submission + - New Zealand proposes new 3 strikes law for P2P (arstechnica.com)
New Zealand's last attempt at forcing through a "graduated response law" to disconnect repeat online copyright infringers ended in failure as the government withdrew the plan. After some thoughtful work on the idea, the government is back with a revised proposal, and it wants to hear from the public.
Given the rancorous debate over the subject, the government scrapped its law earlier this year ( http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/03/3-strikes-strikes-out-in-nz-as-government-yanks-law.ars ) and went back to the drawing board. It convened a working group of "intellectual property and Internet law experts" to advise it on a fair solution to the problem of repeated online copyright infringement. That group has now concluded its work, and New Zealand's Ministry of Economic Development yesterday issued its policy proposal ( PDF : http://www.med.govt.nz/upload/68683/proposal-document.pdf ) for public comment.
Under the government's new plan, Internet disconnection remains on the table, as do fines. But the plan also gives those accused of infringement more power to contest the claims, to use mediation, and to (possibly) appeal penalties to the regular legal system.
ARS Technica : http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/07/new-zealand-proposes-new-3-strikes-process-for-p2p-users.ars