If leaked government proposals to crack down on piracy and online copyright infringement were adopted by the federal government, Australia would have some of the most punitive anti-piracy measures in the Western world.
On Friday, Crikey leaked Attorney General George Brandis’ “Online Copyright Infringement Discussion Paper” which detailed the steps the Federal government may take to combat online piracy.
The draft paper includes proposals to block overseas websites that host pirated content and to compel internet service providers (ISPs) to stop users illegally downloading movies and music. The government also said it would look to the industry to track the amount of content being pirated in Australia.
The paper proposes to make it easier for content creators to engage ISPs in legal action if they don’t act against illegal downloading and proposes methods that would overrule a 2012 High Court decision that found ISPs such as iiNet, Telstra and Optus cannot be found liable for the actions of their users in illegally accessing and downloading content.
While film production companies such as Village Roadshow have welcomed Brandis’ proposals as outlined in the draft paper, industry experts have voiced concerns about some of the measures proposed. “These proposals amount to a punitive copyright protection regime that would put Australia beyond the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, Dr Matthew Rimmer, an expert in intellectual property at the Australian National University told Fairfax.
“The discussion paper looks like a wish list from Hollywood and the music industry.” Monash University senior lecturer Rebecca Giblin, who has researched anti-piracy regimes around the world, said the outlined proposals would force ISPs to make private deals with copyright owners and police their customers’ activities online.
“As well as raising serious concerns about privacy, transparency and due process, any such deals are unlikely to fix the underlying problems that cause infringement,” she said. “A few ISPs have entered into similar deals in other countries, but nowhere else have they been forced to do so by this kind of threat of liability.”
The government is expected to release their official discussion paper next week and submissions are due by the end of August.
