Tuesday 2 July 2013

Green push for copyright reform in Oz

The Australian Green party have moved to bring “common sense and fairness” to copyright law with the introduction of the Copyright Legislation Amendment (Fair Go for Fair Use) Bill by communications spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam who said “Central to our reforms is the introduction of a ‘fair use’ provision. It will make the Copyright Act properly reflect the legitimate expectations of consumers by promoting innovation and fair access to archives and other information stores of public interest” and Ludlam added  “Under the current arcane copyright laws, schools, universities and ISPs can face legal sanctions if end users infringe copyright law while using their services. This sledgehammer approach drags innocent organisations into strife, fostering onerous micromanagement of users that is detrimental to institutions and individuals alike” and “This Bill removes obstacles for blind and visually impaired Australians accessing published works in formats such as Braille, large print text and audio books, harmonising Australian law with the treaty agreed in Marrakesh."

1 comment:

john walker said...

On the other hand the OZ greens are the 'last standing' backers of a version of artist resale royalty that is compulsory for artists and applies to the first resale of artworks that were purchased long before ARR was even thought off, let alone enacted as law.