The Canadian government has finally introduced its Copyright Modernization Act (or Bill C-32) to reform its copyright laws.

The proposals in the Bill include the following:

- New fair dealing provisions for parody, satire and education

- New time-shifting, format-shifting and backup copy provisions

- New performer’s rights and photographer’s rights provisions

- Strong provisions against the circumvention of digital locks

- New requirements for ISPs to notify users of alleged infringements

- Provisions for infringement where a person provides Internet services, and either knows or ought to have known that the services are designed primarily to enable acts of copyright infringement.

For the full text of the Bill, see:

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Docid=4580265&file=4

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The Rudd Government has released its response to the Government 2.0 Taskforce Report. The Report advises Government on how it can utilise Web 2.0 technologies to provide greater public access to Government information and increase Government transparency.

The Government supported most of the Taskforce’s 13 recommendations. Importantly, one of the few recommendations it rejected was the recommendation that responsibility for Crown Copyright and licensing be removed from the Attorney General’s Department (AGD) and placed with the proposed Office of the Information Commissioner (or the lead agency responsible for Government 2.0).

The Government’s response states that, “These functions are best performed by, and should remain, with AGD”.

Secondly, while the Government has supported the notion of “open attribution” licensing for works covered by Crown Copyright, it has not endorsed the Taskforce’s recommendation that works covered by Crown Copyright should be automatically licensed under a Creative Commons BY licence. Instead, it states that, “the selection and use of an appropriate open attribution license will remain the responsibility of [Government] agencies on a case-by-case basis.”

Further, the Government has called for the AGD to review the Government’s Intellectual Property policy to encourage the use of open licensing.

For a copy of the Government’s report see:

http://gov2.net.au/response-to-the-government-2-0-report/

For a copy of the Australian Copyright Council’s submission to Government on 2.0 see:

http://www.copyright.org.au/admin/cms-acc1/_images/10210748194c97fc2a2f9dc.pdf

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Following continued calls from stakeholders for more information, the Minister for Trade, Simon Crean, has welcomed the public release of the draft text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) agreement.

Australia has been party to the international negotiations since late 2007 but is not under any obligation to sign the final agreement, when it is reached.

ACTA participants state they are seeking to develop new standards of IP enforcement to protect against high levels of commercial-scale trade in counterfeit and pirated goods. They aim to enhance cooperation between enforcement networks and consistency and best practice in legal frameworks.

Much of the debate around the ACTA negotiations has focused on whether potential new provisions will stretch too far in favour of IP rightsholders, thus affecting existing consumer rights, such as privacy. The current draft does not contain proposals for a mandated ‘graduated response’ (e.g. a ‘three strikes’ provision) from Internet Service Providers in the case of online copyright infringement.

Negotiations about the draft ACTA document continue and it is expected a final agreement will reached later this year.

Please see the Australian Government’s ACTA site for a media release and a copy of the draft ACTA: http://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/acta/

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Copyright officially celebrated its 300th birthday on April 10.

What is generally regarded as the first official Copyright legislation in the world, The Statute of Anne, entered into force on April 10, 1710 (following its enactment by British parliament in 1709).

Copyright in Australia has developed a long way since its origins in British statute and there is undoubtedly change in store for the future. For now, we'd like to celebrate the important role copyright has played in supporting and encouraging artistic work over the last 300 years.

Happy birthday copyright!

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In a surprisingly quick result, the UK Government has successfully pushed the Digital Economy bill through the House of Commons.

The Guardian reports that the Bill is now set to become law, following a two hour parliamentary debate last night.

In the process, the government was forced to drop a clause on orphan works that had been opposed by photographers.

However, the government retained an amended clause allowing for the possible blocking of internet sites in the case of copyright infringement. Under UK parliamentary process, amendments receive additional scrutiny by the parliament.

The Bill has been at the centre of much domestic debate within the UK.

For more information, see:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/apr/08/digital-economy-bill-passes-third-reading

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The Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) has been appointed to administer the recently enacted resale royalty scheme for visual artists. Arts Minister Peter Garrett, today announced the appointment following an open tender, which closed in February 2010.

The Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) has been appointed to administer the recently enacted resale royalty scheme for visual artists. Arts Minister Peter Garrett announced the appointment following an open tender, which closed in February 2010.

The resale royalty scheme was introduced by the Rudd Government last year and provides a new income stream for visual artists in Australia.

The resale royalty is 5% of the price of original artworks resold commercially for $1,000 or more. The right applies up to 70 years after the relevant artist’s death.

According to the Minister’s press release, CAL will take a 10% administrative fee out of any resale royalties collected on artists’ behalves, to cover the cost of administering the scheme.

Importantly, the right will only apply to resale where the work was first purchased after the commencement of the new legislation - that is, on or after 9 June 2010.

To view the official press release, go to:

http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/garrett/2010/mr20100407a.html

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