[LINK] SMH: 'Jail threat against internet cafe owners'

Rick Welykochy rick at praxis.com.au
Wed Jan 23 08:58:51 AEDT 2008


Roger Clarke wrote:

> [Can anyone confirm or deny this claim:
> "A federal police spokesman said internet cafe operators ... had a duty 
> of care to prevent illegal activity on their premises."]

Wouldn't that be up to the legal profession, and specifically the courts
to decide? Separation of powers, etc.


> Jail threat against internet cafe owners
> The Sydney Morning Herald
> Date: January 23 2008
> Arjun Ramachandran
> http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2008/01/22/1200764264492.html

[SNIP]

> But Sabiene Heindl, the general manager of the investigating agency, 
> said there were increasing numbers of complaints about copyrighted 
> content being housed in internet cafes.

The above is one thing ...

> "The suggestion is that a number of cafes are actively encouraging 
> people to save music on their servers, then [that content] is almost 
> offered as a value-add for the fee paid," she said.

and this is another.

It is not reasonable to expect a cafe operator to monitor the online
activities of its clients.

If the owners encourage the downloads and the allow redistribution of
same, they are fair game for the law.

There is an easy technological solution to prevent the sharing and
distribution of copyright materials in the cafe. After a customer logs
off, clear the data area of the hard drive. The cafe owner is then
showing that she is actively discouraging sharing of these materials
amongst customers.

cheers
rickw



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Rick Welykochy || Praxis Services

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