The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has today released its much-anticipated Discussion Paper.

The Discussion Paper recommends radical changes to Australian copyright law. Key recommendations include:

• Replacing the specific exceptions in the Copyright Act with an open-ended ‘fair use’ exception and

• Abolishing Australia’s statutory licensing regime, which facilitates access to copyright material for educational institutions, governments and people with disabilities.

These recommendations go much further than reviews in other common law countries and, if implemented, are likely to impact on the opportunities for copyright creators to exploit their work.

We look forward to engaging with the ALRC and encourage the creative community to do likewise.

The Discussion Paper is available here: http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/copyright-and-digital-economy-dp-79

http://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiries/copyright-and-digital-economy

Submissions are due on 31 July 2013.