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

[Anthony Towns]

On Mon, Feb 09, 2004 at 11:01:07PM +1030, Paul Shirren wrote:
> Can someone please explain the specific threats to Australian IT and 
> internet businesses, to individual rights and to free software for me.

> >   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.

Copyright owners can tell your ISP to take down a website due to copyright
violations, without any oversight. The ISP has to comply essentially
immediately; if they don't, they're liable for copyright infringement too.
ISPs don't have the time or ability to judge copyright violations,
so customers get screwed over.

Actually, that mightn't be the case either: the US way is one (obvious)
way of satisfying the above bullet point, but it's not the only way --
it's certainly plausible to have an independent office review copyright
holders complaints in an expeditious manner, without cutting the corners
they do in the US. The Digital Agenda review will hopefully have some
suggestions should it be released.

> >   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,

Less chance of being able to play DVDs you bought in the US in Australia;
less chance of being able to get a Linux distro to play DVDs bought
anywhere (and the only way to do so is for someone to have broken the
law). Our controls are already pretty tight though, so it's not clear
what "tighter" means; especially since (additional) "public interest
exceptions" are expected to be introduced.

Hrm. If the FTA requires our copyright act be modified, which it seems to,
and doesn't require us to follow in lockstep with the US, which it doesn't
seem to, we could even be in a good position to get some useful changes
in, and make sure the rights of consumers are properly represented.

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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