[Linux-aus] Never mind the MyDoom crap, make some noise about this!

[Anthony Towns]

On Mon, Feb 09, 2004 at 07:30:58PM +1100, Jeff Waugh wrote:
> But a terrible thing has happened, that may prove to be an awesome
> opportunity for LA (and possibly ACS, depending on their politics) to make
> some angry yet positive noise about Australia selling out our potential to
> the US.

>   http://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/negotiations/us_fta/outcomes/08_intellectual_property.html

> Seriously scary stuff, that we *need* to address.

There's no details there to address, though. What there is is:

   a) Agreement to implement the WIPO Internet Treaties by entry
      into force of the Free Trade Agreement

   b) An expeditious process that allows for copyright owners to
      engage with Internet Service Providers and subscribers to
      deal with allegedly infringing copyright material on the
      Internet.

   c) Tighter controls on circumventing technological protection of
      copyright material together with a mechanism for examining
      and as necessary introducing public interest exceptions in
      relation to technological protection measures,

   d) An increased term of protection for copyright material

   e) increased criminal and civil protection against the unlawful
      decoding of encrypted program carrying satellite TV signals

I don't know what (a)'s about. Could be important, could be trivial.

(b)'s disappointing, but I don't think it affects Linux or Open Source
at all.

(c)'s disappointing at first glance, although the "public interest
exception" could be interesting. It's definitely disappointing that the
Digital Agenda review seems to have been made completely irrelevant.
But mostly that's disappointing in that we lose the chance to make
improvements, not because it makes anythign worse.

(d)'s disappointing, but is negligibly different to just retaining the
current term, which is effectively infinite anyway.

(e) seems a bit gratuitous, but doesn't seem particularly important
either.

Lots of that's disappointing, but none of it seems particularly scary --
we should be able to go on just as we are now afaics. The "public
interest exceptions" to TPMs might even have some potential. It'd be nice
for LA to have some involvement in the drafting of those...

Cheers,
aj

-- 
Anthony Towns <aj at humbug.org.au> <http://azure.humbug.org.au/~aj/>
I don't speak for anyone save myself. GPG signed mail preferred.

             Linux.conf.au 2004 -- Because we could.
           http://conf.linux.org.au/ -- Jan 12-17, 2004
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