[LINK] New report on proposed copyright bill

[Kim Holburn]

Soon recordings will be a crime

(Singing "Happy Birthday" may be a crime)

http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/soon-recordings-will-be-a-crime/ 
2006/11/13/1163266483975.html?from=rss

> HUNDREDS of U2 fans used their mobile phones to record Bono belting  
> out their favourite songs at Sydney's Telstra Stadium over three  
> concerts ending last night. Little did they know that under planned  
> changes to copyright laws, they would be committing a criminal  
> offence, attracting a maximum fine of $6600.
>
> In fact, if the changes are passed by the Senate next month, police  
> will be able to issue reduced fines on the spot. And the U2 fan  
> would not even have to know that what they were doing was illegal.
>
> When the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, flagged the changes  
> earlier this year, he said they would "make our laws fairer for  
> consumers and tougher on copyright pirates". For example, police  
> would be able to go to a market, find people selling pirated CDs  
> and issue fines on the spot.
>
> But the Internet Industry Association believes the changes have  
> gone too far and could make it a crime for people to play radios in  
> public parks or publish videos of school concert performances on  
> their websites.
>
> "This could be devastating for the average Australian family," the  
> chief executive of the association, Peter Coroneos, said.
>
> The association is particularly concerned that copyright offences  
> will now attract criminal penalties. That effectively means an  
> unsuspecting teenager who burns a copy of a CD to give to a friend,  
> or a U2 fan, for example, who uploads their video recording of a  
> rock concert onto the popular website YouTube.com, could end up  
> with a criminal record.
>
> Indeed, fans' recordings of U2's Sydney concerts are already  
> playing on YouTube.com. A search of "U2 and Sydney" on YouTube was  
> already netting 216 results before last night's concert.
>
> Other activities which could attract fines and a criminal record  
> include backing up an iTunes music file onto a DVD or recording a  
> group of your friends singing a song in a restaurant and then  
> posting it on a social networking website. The Internet Industry  
> Association says it would even be a criminal offence if that song  
> was Happy Birthday because it remains a copyright work until 2030.

!!!!!

> "It's public performance without licence, an offence under the  
> bill," Mr Coroneos said. And a person who uploads a soundtrack onto  
> YouTube.com could even face jail, according to legal advice  
> received by the association.
>
> "If it is not the Government's intention to allow these ridiculous  
> outcomes to remain even theoretical possibilities in Australia,  
> then the bill must be withdrawn and redrafted until the unintended  
> consequences are properly understood and addressed," he said.



On 2006/Nov/14, at 11:26 AM, Sandra Henderson wrote:

> http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/copyright06/ 
> report/re
> port.pdf is text of senate committee report into the proposed  
> changes to
> Australian copyright, released this morning
>
> Sandra Henderson
> Manager, Research, Coordination Support Branch
> National Library of Australia
> CANBERRA  ACT 2600
> Phone: +61 2 6262 1481
> Fax: +61 2 6273 2545
> Email: shenders at nla.gov.au
>
> _______________________________________________
> Link mailing list
> Link at mailman.anu.edu.au
> http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link

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Kim Holburn
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