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The ADA Monthly Intellectual Property
Wrap-Up
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A monthly summary of recent legislation, cases, reports and other events
relating to Australian intellectual property and the public interest.
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January
2001
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[1] About this publication
[2] The Latest on the EU Copyright Directive
[3] No Agreement on WIPO Audio-Visual Performers Rights Treaty
[4]
Screenrights Applies to Administer Retransmission Scheme
[5] Government
Response to 'Don't Stop the Music'
[6] Friend of the Court Briefs Filed In
DeCSS Case
[7] I Can Copy, Right?
>[1] About This
Publication
This summary of recent IP (but chiefly copyright)
happenings of relevance to Australia will be published every month by email and
on the Australian Digital Alliance website at
www.digital.org.au. If you have any
suggestions as to what you should go in the next issue, please let the Nick
Smith know by email: (nsmith@nla.gov.au).
April may be
the cruellest month but January is the quietest. Not too much to report at this
time of the year…
>[2] The Latest on the EU Copyright
Directive
The 'Directive on the harmonisation of certain aspects
of copyright and related rights in the Information Society' is the EU's attempt
at legislation in compliance with the two World Intellectual Property
Organisation (WIPO) Internet Treaties. Early drafts favoured rightsholder
interests considerably. Persistent lobbying by library and other users groups
resulted in a somewhat more reasonable balance being struck.
The
so-called Common Position will reach the European Parliament during the plenary
session of 12-16 February. Unfortunately the MEPs have not heeded the
exhortations of the Commission and the Council of Ministers to leave the text
alone. Something like 200 amendments were tabled by the deadline in mid-January
and many of them are distinctly dangerous-looking, including a requirement that
'fair dealing' exceptions be paid for.
More information on the changes
can be found at: www.la-hq.org.uk (under
Hot News).
>[3] No Agreement on WIPO Audio-Visual Performers
Rights Treaty
A Diplomatic Conference to draft a treaty on the
Protection of Audiovisual Performances (to extend the protection of the WIPO
Performances and Phonograms Treaty to performers in audio-visual material)
ended without agreement.
The problem is a continuing disagreement
between the Americans and the Europeans concerning the transfer of rights to
producers. The Americans, always keen to protect Hollywood, have sought treaty
language that would allow for "performers" rights to be transferred immediately
to the producer.
Another attempt at this Treaty will be made in
September. More information can be found on WIPO's website at
www.wipo.int
>[4]
Screenrights Applies to Administer Retransmission Scheme
Screenrights, the audio-visual copyright collecting society, has applied to the
Attorney-General to be appointed to administer the broadcast retransmission
scheme (managing payment for the re-use of free-to-air broadcasts by pay TV
broadcasters) when it comes into effect on 4 March 2001. More information can
be found on Screenrights' web site at www.screen.org
>[5] Government
Response to 'Don't Stop the Music' Report
The Federal Government
has responded to a report on music licensing and small business which was
released by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and
Constitutional Affairs in June 1998. The Response can be be found at:
www.law.gov.au/publications/DSTMFinalGovtResp.htm
The inquiry by this Committee followed a considerable number of complaints
by small businesses about paying for licences to cover music played in their
workplaces. The Committee recommended that the Australasian Performing Right
Association (APRA) offer complimentary licences to businesses with fewer than
20 people where the music is not heard by the general public.
The
Department of Communication, Information Technology and the Arts has been
monitoring the implementation of this complimentary licence and will report
separately to Parliament on this issue.
The Response also stated that
the Government "considers that the activities of copyright collecting societies
warrant continued oversight to ensure the societies operate efficiently,
effectively and equitably. "
>[6] Friend of the Court Briefs
Filed In DeCSS Case
A diverse group of interests have come out in
support of the defendant, Eric Corley (editor and publisher of hacker mag 2600)
is his suit against the Motion Picture Industry. Corley and others were sued by
eight Hollywood movie studios under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for
posting a piece of software (DeCSS) that allows users to bypass the security
system of DVD movie disks.
The American Civil Liberties Union is one
of the 'Friends of the Court', along with the American Library Association, the
Association of Research Libraries, the Computer & Communications Industry
Association, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Music Library
Association and National Association of Independent Schools and 46 Law
Professors.
The ACLU said that "this case involves an unprecedented
expansion of liability under copyright law" and their "brief urges the appeals
court to interpret copyright laws to accommodate free speech concerns."
More information can be found at the Campaign for Audio-Visual Freedom of
Expression at www.eff.org/cafe/
>[7] I Can Copy, Right?
Yes, you can copy this
publication. Feel free to send it to friends or colleagues, print it off or
even archive it on your website provided that all text is included or, in the
case of an excerpt, appropriate credit is given.
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