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Australia to Get Software Patents and Anti-Circumvention Laws
Marlor writes "Australia's main opposition party have just confirmed that they will be supporting the Free Trade Agreement with the USA. This means that Australia will be adopting DMCA-style laws and Software Patents in the name of 'harmonizing IP laws with the USA', despite consistent lobbying against them. Matters are made worse by the fact that, unlike Americans, Australians are not protected by 'fair use' provisions." Odd that 'harmonizing' is always in one direction - for some reason, no one ever wants to decrease IP regulation to harmonize with some other country.
Harmonization is always in the direction of the power. It doesn't have a thing to do with what's good for innovation anymore.
Because restrictive IP laws create concentration of wealth, which is power. Power leads to the ability to coerce others. And nobody grows powerful by using their existing wealth to create an envirinment that is free-er.
Looks good for your age..
"no one ever wants to decrease IP regulation to harmonize with some other country"
Keep talking about "IP".. and that will NEVER change.
The crux is this: we all bought in this phantom "Information Economy" in the 90's, completely bypassing the fact that the real money is made with SERVICES, not INFORMATION.
This whole "IT revolution" meme needs to be shot. And before that happens, stuff is likely to get far worse first.
"/Dread"
It's not odd at all. The Australian government wants more trade from the US, whitch will only occur if the Australian government increases IP regulation. If the Australian people want less IP regulation (I.e. fair use clauses), its up to them to lobby their government. Things don't usually happen in government because its the right thing to do, things happen because of interests. In this case, businesses (both US and Australian) have a compelling interest towards more trade, so until there is a compelling interest towards fair use the Australian government will probbley not get around to it.
Matters are made worse by the fact that, unlike Americans, Australians are not protected by 'fair use' provisions.
What? Americans are protected by fair use provisions? I mean, I know we have them, but I didn't realize they still did anything.
It has happened many times before in many countries and with many issues. US allways pushes other countries to have laws mimic its own.
During the Argentina's default/devaluation crisis, US (through the IMF) made Argentina's congress pass a bankrupcy law in the term of the chapter-11 kind of thing the US has (IANAL). Anne Krueger (head of the IMF then) told everybody Argentina had to "adapt its legislation to the international standards" (i.e. US' standard).
They were foreseeing massive bankrupcies, but none (significant) happened so no US-based companies took control of any troubled local company.
Before that bankrupt companied were handled by a judge in a specific way, not handed to the lenders.
I am an Australian and am completely sick of our Governments (both parties) acting like cheap hookers around US corporations. Screw you guys I am moving to Finland.
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CINC, 4th Penguin Legion
That US patents will apply to Australian software developers? Australia's economy is tiny compared to the US, and I'm not keen on the effect this has on Australia IT startups trying to avoid the patent highwayman on all the backroads... :(
Apparently the government of Australia has nothing better to do than to attempt the killing of the IT industry of Australia.
The idea behind the so-called "Free Trade" treaty will work when ALL countries on this Earth adhere to it, and enforce it. But while there are countries which do not have such strict laws, the countries implementing such laws will suffer a severe competitive disadvantage.
The result will be that the law will be evaded by taking work elsewhere. This means lost revenues and hurts the Australian IT industry.
Have you noticed how the Internet and things dealing with it are slowly sinking into a swamp full of legalization? The reason is to attach to the Internet the same power structures as the "old" business has, the same rulers, the same power players, the same mind-numbing consumer-grade nothingness.
I do not moderate.
Since the Aussie's dont have 'fair use' rights, the logic of the WTO would conclude that the USA has to drop their citizens 'fair use' rights to conform with the lowest common denominator between the countries.
This is the real danger of the WTO, as it forces you to ingore your laws, in favor of some other countries concept of right and wrong..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
1. Are you a Primary Producer? [read Farmers and Miners]
The Primary Producers have so much sway even in this day and age. They get more access to sell Tin/ Chrome/ Wool/ Lamb and the technology and intellectual capital gets shoved under the rug.
This is what has occurred here.
Australia is entirely dependent on US for defence as well. The Australian Army has enough ammunition for 3-5 days of full combat. There is almost always a few days lead time before invasions, and these two combined is designed for enough time for the US to step in and back us up. This is why Australia is so closely aligned with the US.
Australia is content having the Brain Drain. To the politicians on both sides, the net benefit outweighs the loss of innovation.
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I used to be in favor of balance, and moderation, and rights of creators etc. Now, I have no such feelings. I watch as the copyright extremists win battle after battle by taking a stance that strengthening IP laws is not only necessary but a moral imperative. They use words like pirate and theft, while we say balance and culture and freedom of expression. They have a clear agenda and deep pockets while our oposition is under funded and constantly debating on what balance means.
Furthermore there seems to be no way we are ever going to get our legislators to understand the harm that increasing the power of is having. Legislators are free to enact these laws because the average person has no chance of understanding copyright.
The only way we are going to get any change is by adopting a similarly extreme position. By completly ignoring copyright law or deliberately acting against it. Bankrupt the content owners' legal fund and clog the courts with infringement cases. Act against the goverments position in favor of the will of the people. In short, we need revolution. That is the only way we will ever see positive change.
Or something like that.
DRM? No thanks, I'll just get it somewhere else...
First, some disclaimers: IANAL, IANAA, IANAAL (I am not a lawyer, an Australian, or even an Australian Lawyer)
As I am not an Australian, I cannot speak for your people, your government or your political parties. However, in any republican government, and Australia and the US would seem to qualify, governing will always boil down to special interest politics. Governing is a complex task, and one of the benefits of having small, vocal minorities is that they do the enormous amount of highly specialized research on the issues for the representatives. In a way, its one of the few things that keeps the process of governing from becoming overloaded.
What you have to realize is that on the issues like DMCA-style legislation, the world breaks down into three categories- a special interest that really wants strong 'IP' laws (media conglomerates, monopolistic software titans, etc) , a special interest that really doesnt want them (slashdot geeks, libertarians, eff members) and the largest group out there: the completely apathetic/ignorant. Now, given that the vast majority of the represented dont care one way or the other which way their representatives go on this issue, which would you chose? The small special interest that posts stories on a web page all day or the small special interest offering you, not just campaign contributions, but a trade agreement that could bring both $ and jobs to your community.
That doesnt make it right, but until "we the people" wake up and actually start to care in the US, the place to fight this is the courts. I'd assume that to be a good place in Australia, Canada and the UK as well.
Like as if an average citizen knows what DMCA, DRM, software patent, FOSS, etc. are. Don't to notice that the magic words now are terrorism, social security, medicare, economy, and job market? If you are a politician, whould you concentrate your efforts to a small group of geeks with crappy voting records?
I hate to break this news to you but the population in large doesn't really give a damn about what the geeks think and they don't act on any of the issues until it starts to hurt their bottom line.
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