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Australian Media 'Crooks' to Come in from the Cold
pagefault writes "News.com is reporting that millions of Australians who tape TV shows and copy CDs will soon get the right to do it with a clear conscience. From the article: 'The Federal Government will next year legalize the video recording of television shows for personal use, and the transfer of songs from CDs to MP3 players, in a bid to overturn a ban which has made criminals of much of the population."
If everyone does it, then maybe its not so illegal.
I seriously doubt someone had unclear conscience while trying to copy his own CD-s to his own mp3 player.
Again brainwashing in action to make what's moral and what's legal the same thing.
If they outlaw living should I have bad conscience for being alive?
"The levy is pretty much irrelevant."
Immorality knows no dollar signs. If you multiply those 18 or 20 cents by millions of blank CDs and DVDs, you'll see that millions of dollars are being stolen from your fellow citizens and funneled to private interests under the assumption that each and every one of you are criminals. That's money that can be put to better use among the *productive* members of the economy. Moreover, those levies are going to an organization that represents only a small minority of the overall pool of musical talent in the country.
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
'm an Australian and I know of four police officers who are absolutely aware of my mp3(/ogg) collection.
I'm an Australian and I know of a crap load of police officers who share music (burned CD's, mp3's, software) amongst each other, even doing it AT WORK.
Using the law to crack down on music file sharers in Australia is NOT about stopping the sharing. It is about extracting money from people or entities which have deep pockets. The fact that they go after ISP's and companies, instead of the file sharing users, is evidence of this.
A top Australian Lawyer or Barrister makes more in a day, than the typical 15 year old has in the worth of the entirety of his assets. The ISP those teens use on the other hand, have millions.
I see the day when we will have the same restrictions. Look at the MPAA, RIAA. They are constantly trying to close the "Analog Hole". They want to make it illegal to timeshift. How well do you think your TIVO will work when you can only get the signal via their box. They provide one you say? Guess what happens when there is no competition in any given field? The choices suck.
The truth is, this is RIAA math (not the RIAA, but same kind). Remember that 4 blank CDs may cost $2 or whatever, but their value is the $150 that a 4 disc box set might cost (because that is what you could pirate with it). Logic, as usual for these kind of groups, does not apply.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Although the change will mean very little for the citizens, it's a message that they're declaring this stance instead of leaving it de facto.
Actually, it could mean a lot if it prevents things like the broadcast flag.
Just to insert a little sanity here. In Australia, most copyright violations are prosecuted in the civil courts (exceptions include sale of couterfeit goos, called 'passing off'). It is only in corrupt countries where the media corporations can easily buy new laws that such things have fallen under criminal prosecution.
Let's not even begin to talk about the DCMA, the shiny new laws which make videotaping a movie in a theatre more heavily punished than several types of killing, or the perpetual copyright on Mickey Mouse or anything else that american corporations bother to pay supreme court justices for.
Nihil Illegitemi Carborvndvm
Before the US Congress is passing a resolution to refuse to co-operate with Australia unless they change their laws to protect American IP again, as they were -
because we all know that this is *exactly* what the RIAA wants here Stateside, right? To make you buy the CD, buy the MP3, and then buy it again when the license expires.
Thinking outside my Head
Having spent a fair bit of time eyeballing the intellectual property provisions of the FTA back when I was living in Australia (and thus more concerned about it than I am now), I was pretty sure that we've agreed to criminalise copying CDs (or was that bypassing Technical Prevention Measures (TPMs) which are increasingly common these days). Anyway, we're confusing the issues. We SHOULD be able to copy CDs for our own purposes (I'd much rather carry an iPod with my entire collection than a backpack of CDs, many of which are irreplacible). We SHOULD NOT be able to steal music using P2P software et al. The cost of criminalising the former in the name of preventing the latter is too great.
We also did some other stupid things to ensure 'justice' prevailed, including telling judges how to do their job by insisting that they consider the retail value of copies even if that is not realised (ie if your 10y/o son downloads the latest Disney tripe, selling at the time for AUD50 as a DVD, and it sits in [insert your favourite P2P software here] for 6 months during which time 100,000 copies are made then you are to be tried for AUD5,000,000 of piracy despite having nothing to show for it but an AUD10,000 Telstra bill).
There I go confusing the issues again... downloading from P2P networks IS theft (even in a world where CD/DVD prices are extortionate); making the most of your intellectual property license (ie CD/DVD purchase) by transforming the work into more convenient formats is not.
"Artist" in this context means "media corporations", and "lose" means "fail to gain".