Specifically, the bill will introduce a new provision that allows a carriage service provider to disable access to infringing online locations located outside australia. Australian parliament passes controversial new laws allowing rights holders to force service providers to block websites deemed. Jun 30, 2015 c the primary purpose of the online location is to infringe, or to facilitate the infringement of, whether or not in australia. However telco industry body communications alliance has previously said such a scheme could play an important role in reducing infringement.
Most amendments will come into effect in december 2017. This act may be cited as the copyright amendment online infringement act 2015. A new law being considered by the federal senate may be used to block virtual private networks vpns that allow australians to shop online to save money or purchase content not available domestically. In order to receive an injunction requiring an isp such as telstra, tpg, iinet or optus to disable access to the foreign site from australia, it must be satisfied that. Australia has one of the highest online piracy rates in the world. This digest does not have any official legal status. Choice does not believe that the bill should be implemented because it is unlikely to reduce. Copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015 no.
Wednesday, 15 april 2015 committee secretarysenate legal and constitutional affairs committeepo box. Mar 27, 2015 in that regard, it has become apparent that there is a gap in australia s legislative framework in so far as existing law is not adequate to deter a specific type of infringing activity, which is the facilitation of the online infringement of owners content, largely of audiovisual material, by online apparatus. June 23, 2015 on june 22, 2015, the australian senate passed a bill that will allow holders to request that overseas websites be blocked in australia on the grounds that those websites have the primary purpose of facilitating infringement. Organisations representing holders are pitted against digital businesses and online service providers in australias latest clash over intellectual property rules. In that regard, it has become apparent that there is a gap in australias legislative framework in so far as existing law is not adequate to deter a specific type of infringing activity, which is the facilitation of the online infringement of owners content, largely of audiovisual material, by online apparatus. The bill contains a number of safeguards to ensure that the power does not unduly encroach on other important public and private interests. Australian senate passes controversial antipiracy, websiteblocking laws. Attorneygeneral, senator the honourable george brandis qc copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015. Committee secretary senate legal and constitutional affairs committee po box 6100 parliament house canberra act 2600 phone. Under the bill, an online location could only be blocked if was found to have the primary purpose of infringing or facilitating the infringement of.
Submission to australian senate on copyright amendment. Apr 17, 2015 vpns could be blocked under proposed australian legislation, say choice. No matter how the government tries to dress it up, the bill before parliament is nothing more than censorship by way of an internet filter, writes chris berg. Copyright amendment online infringement act 2015 federal. The bill has not yet been introduced into parliament. Amendments to copyright act will strengthen holders. On 15 june 2017, the parliament has passed changes to australias laws that will improve access to materials for people with a disability, while simplifying and streamlining the framework for the education, library and archive sectors.
Vpn is the only key to resolve the issues like australian metadata retention law and piracy bill. In june 2015, an amendment was passed to australian law, which allows for the courtordered censorship of nondomestic websites whose primary purpose is to facilitate infringement. The siteblocking scheme forms a central pillar of the governments crackdown on online infringement. Senate inquiry into the copyright amendment online infringement. The department of communications is asking for submissions from interested stakeholders. The bill would have allowed the justice department to take down an entire website, effectively. Email updates on news, actions, and events in your area. Jun 16, 2015 i would like to emphasise three points in my remarks this evening. The rising censorship laws have increased the demand of vpn in australia. In response the australian human rights commission recommends that. Australian senate passes controversial antipiracy, websiteblocking.
According to a 2012 report, australias creative industries employ 900,000. In the beginning, global users of the web would have barely noticed pieces of the internet going dark. A submission to the senate legal and constitutional affairs. The legislation allows rights holders to go to a federal court judge to get overseas websites, or online locations, blocked that have the primary purpose of. The information here is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. On 12 may 2015, the senate granted an extension of time for reporting until 29 may 2015. Under this legislation owners will be able to apply to the federal court requiring internet service providers isps to block access to overseas websites, like pirate bay, which have the primary purpose of infringing, or facilitating the. It reflects the legislation as introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments.
The changes, lauded as protecting the music and film industries, have seen a sharp decline in digital pirating. Australia cyber bill website blocking law for australians. This data provides an indication of the significant impact on artists of infringement occurring in the online environment. Amendment online infringement bill 2015the bill to the senate legal and constitutional affairs committee.
Before the 2004 amendments, australia used a plus 50 rule to determine when a work entered the public domain. Mike masnick observed that the bill engaged in censorship, and raised larger constitutional issues about freedom of speech. Jul 09, 2016 the bill provides owners and exclusive licensees of content with a remedial avenue against those websites that infringe their ip rights. Vpns could be blocked under proposed australian legislation, say choice. The purpose of the copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015 the bill is to. Mar 27, 2015 c the primary purpose of the online location is to infringe, or to facilitate the infringement of, whether or not in australia. Apr 15, 2015 the commission is aware that the intention of this bill is to introduce a key reform to reduce online infringement by providing for court injunctions requiring carriage service providers csps to block foreign online locations that facilitate infringement. The act implements a number of amendments supported by both creators and users of content.
With the advent of these new laws passed today in australia, there is also the concern that legitimate content sharing sites such as dropbox might get caught up in these new antipiracy and websiteblocking laws as was the case when australian federal government agency asic inadvertently blocked over 250,000 websites when they tried to block. The australian greens have indicated they would not support the bill. Criminal code amendment sharing of abhorrent violent material bill 2019. The intellectual property laws amendment act 2015 amendment act amended the patents act 1990, trade marks act 1995, designs act 2003, and the plant breeders rights act 1994 the acts in order to. Its easy to brush off online piracy as simply being the status quo. Efa is an independent nonprofit association that relies on membership subscriptions and donations. The amendment introduced a provision allowing holders to obtain injunctions requiring search engine providers to block access to sites that profit from infringements. Music rights australias submissions in response to copyright. C2015a00080 copyright amendment online infringement act 2015. The commission is aware that the intention of this bill is to introduce a key reform to reduce online infringement by providing for court injunctions requiring carriage service providers csps to block foreign online locations that facilitate infringement.
Committee report 1106 2015 an electronic version of this act is available on the federal register of legislation. Senate legal and constitutional affairs legislation committee. Jun 23, 2015 it would have happened slowly at first. Text of the bill as introduced into the parliament third reading.
I would like to emphasise three points in my remarks this evening. We are seeking stakeholder views on the operation of the copyright amendment online infringement act 2015. Siteblocking and antipiracy legislation in australia. The copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015 was introduced to. Australian parliament passes controversial new laws allowing rights holders to. Jun 16, 2015 this bill establishes a legal process to block access to websites like this. Jul 27, 2015 australia has one of the highest online piracy rates in the world. Senate bill seeks to require permitting for filming on federal lands notice. Legalvision is a techdriven, fullservice commercial law firm that uses technology to deliver a faster, better quality and more costeffective client experience. Timebase senate committee report on copyright amendment. Debate on the copyright amendment online infringement. This bill establishes a legal process to block access to websites like this. Prepared if the bill is amended by the house in which it was introduced.
It is really a bad news for the internet users in australia that they will now be deprived of accessing a lot of websites which were accused of infringements. A submission to the senate legal and constitutional. Please enter your login details below to access your user dashboard. If youre concerned about digital rights in australia, please join or donate today. One only needs to consider the popular television series game of thrones, the season 5 premiere of which was downloaded illegally via torrent websites over 150,000 times by australians alone. By becoming a member, you can stay ahead of legal issues while staying on top of costs. Under this legislation owners will be able to apply to the federal court requiring internet service providers isps to block access to overseas websites, like pirate bay, which have. The em now clarifies the meaning of the phrase primary purpose in two important ways. Jun 19, 2015 specifically, the bill will introduce a new provision that allows a carriage service provider to disable access to infringing online locations located outside australia. Australian senate passes controversial antipiracy, website. The pirate bay, kickass torrents and other websites based on the concept of p2pfile sharing. Overly broad safe harbours such as those proposed in schedule 2 are not fit for purpose and cause harmful market distortion even though music is used and enjoyed more than ever the recording industry has licensed around 40. Copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015 parlinfo. Jun 23, 2015 with the advent of these new laws passed today in australia, there is also the concern that legitimate content sharing sites such as dropbox might get caught up in these new antipiracy and websiteblocking laws as was the case when australian federal government agency asic inadvertently blocked over 250,000 websites when they tried to block.
The bill contains a number of safeguards to ensure that the power does not unduly encroach on. Jun 22, 2015 the legislation allows rights holders to go to a federal court judge to get overseas websites, or online locations, blocked that have the primary purpose of facilitating infringement. Digital piracy and the copyright act go to court lawyers. This version of the bill is then considered by the second house. Australian senate give the green light to antipiracy and. The senate committee endorsed the bill, after submitting a report acknowledging the impact that infringement has on the countrys creative industries.
On 29 may 2015, the committee tabled an interim report stating its intention to present a final report by 9 june 2015. Music rights australias submissions in response to. Pdf version owen griffiths law and bills digest section 9 november 2018. Debate on the copyright amendment online infringement bill. Copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015 parliament. These websites were used to illicitly download content such as movies. Senate inquiry into the copyright amendment online. Copyright amendment bill exposure draft copyright agency. The copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015, introduced into. The law amendment means intellectual property rights holders, like hollywood movie companies, will be able to launch cases in the federal court of australia to force a carriage service.
The copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015 amends the. Critics of the proposal have argued that it could be open to abuse and ineffective. The online infringement amendment enables a owner to apply to the federal court of australia to block access to an online location operated outside australia with the primary purpose of infringing or facilitating infringement of content. Choice does not believe that the bill should be implemented because it is unlikely to reduce access to sites facilitating online infringement and even less likely to. Amendment online infringement bill 2015 the bill to the senate legal and constitutional affairs committee.
Final text of bill agreed to by both the house of representatives and the senate which is presented to the governor. At this stage it seems unlikely that the bill will be introduced before an election is called. If this primary recommendation is not accepted, a requirement be added to proposed section 115a1b that the infringement or facilitation of the infringement of by the online location be flagrant. Copyright, pirates and vpns arts law centre of australia. Explanatory memorandum circulated by authority of the. Commentary on the copyright amendment bill 2015 by the anton mostert chair of intellectual property law department of mercantile law, faculty of law stellenbosch university.
The committee did not clarify whether virtual private networks vpns, which have. The bill provides owners and exclusive licensees of content with a remedial avenue against those websites that infringe their ip rights. If someone in australia uses a vpn to download a copy of material from an overseas website and they do not have permission from the owner to download the material in australia, it is likely to be an infringement of in australia. Review of the copyright online infringement amendment. In order to receive an injunction requiring an isp such as telstra, tpg, iinet or optus to disable access to the foreign site from australia, it. Users betrayed as australia adopts a copyright censorship. Commentary on the copyright amendment bill 2015 by. Government releases exposure draft of copyright act.
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