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Tougher Copyright Laws for Australia

Posted by samzenpus on from the do-your-own-work dept.

smee2 writes "The Age reports Tougher copyright laws linked to the Australia-US free trade agreement (FTA) have been passed by the Australian parliament, AAP reports. The bill, which passed the Senate last night, will enable people other than copyright owners to force internet service providers to take down material allegedly infringing copyright."

4 of 302 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Kazaa by Propagandhi · · Score: 5, Informative

    Even if Kazaa is shut down by these new laws (or some others already on the books or in the queue*) will it really affect P2P traffic?

    Personally, I don't even use Kazaa anymore; it's so overrun with half downloaded songs and mislabeled files that it's nearly useless and better alternatives are already in place to grab the standard should/when Kazaa fall(s). In fact, cleaning out the dregs that the Kazaa network has become will only increase the efficiency of the P2P machine.

    Sites like Suprnova and Shareconnector verify the content before providing links to the torrent or donkey file, eliminating the possiblity of a mislabeled or otherwise misleading file. Sure, the speed can be slightly slower, but faster alternatives (Bearshare, Ares) are also available for the speed freaks. And unlike Kazaa, these newer apps are willing to share networks, rather than trying to corner the market.

    Napster showed us that killing a single app (even one as prevalent as Napster was) hardly interferes with the P2P machine, I don't think any legislation will manage to slow it down.

    * denotes bad P2P joke

  2. We need more time! by malsbert · · Score: 5, Informative

    And the term of protection for copyright material was extended by 20 years. because 50 to 120 years http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries'_co pyright_length will just not give you enough time! (personel note: wiki is wrong right? it can not be THAT long!!!)

    --
    "Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest." - Denis Diderot.
    1. Re:We need more time! by Beolach · · Score: 4, Informative
      Wikipedia is not wrong (in this instance). From An introduction to copyright in Australia :
      How long does copyright last? This varies according to the type of material. The general rule which applies until 31 December 2004 is that copyright lasts from the time the material is created until 50 years after the year of the creator's death. Note, however, that there are a number of exceptions to this general rule. Once copyright has expired, anyone can use the material without permission.

      From 1 January 2005 the rules on how long copyright last will change. This will affect any material still in copyright on that date. This is as a result of the Free Trade Agreement Australia has negotiated with the United States. The effect of the changes is that, from 1 January 2005, copyright will generally last until 70 years after the death of the creator, bringing our law into line with the period of copyright that applies in the United States and Europe. For further information, see our information sheet Duration of copyright .
      --
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  3. add to the electronic surveillance bill to that by cobbler_26 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not only has this copyright bill gone through, they also just passed an Electronic Surveillance bill that "regulates the use of surveillance devices (data, optical, listening and tracking devices) by law enforcement agencies and.... also significantly widens the circumstances in which they can be used and the types that can be used." where is the government free space??