Pay Attention To .Au/.Us IP Trade Law

Rusty Russell writes "The recent US-Australia "Free" Trade Agreement Chapter 17 (IP) locks Australia into our existing DMCA-style laws and extends them further: banning "access control" circumvention, extending copyright, guaranteeing penalties greater than actual damages for deliberate copyright infringement, committing us to recognising patents "whether a product or process, in all fields of technology", etc. Linux Australia has produced a draft position paper (rough HTML here), has a how to help page, and started a petition. Please help! " Rusty's a great guy - he's got some good links on his own page, but please take the time to do what you can - if you are a Australian, take the time to *physically* write your MP. Floods of post are what will create action.

Comments

Take our laws... we don't want 'em.

[LostCluster]

Wait a second, the ??AA organziations are letting Austrailia copy our copyright laws? Make them write their own... :)

And she said,

[Himring]

Do you code from a land down under? Where the DMCA grow's and makes plunder?

/duck
/dodge
/hide

Re:And she said,

[LostCluster]

/duck /dodge /hide

You better run. You better take cover.