Parliamentary inquiry into TPMs

On 24 August 2005, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (LACA Committee) announced its inquiry into exceptions to technological protection measures (TPMs). The inquiry relates to Australia’s obligations under the Australia–US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) regarding TPMs, which Australia has to implement by 1 January 2007.

There are already some provisions relating to TPMs in the Copyright Act, introduced by the Digital Agenda amendments and in force since March 2001. The AUSFTA requires the following amendments to the Copyright Act:

• sanctions against the manufacture and supply of devices designed to circumvent TPMs that control access (whether or not that access control is for the purposes of inhibiting or preventing infringement);
• sanctions against the use of a circumvention device or service to get access to copyright material;
• replacement of the “permitted purposes” for which a circumvention device or service may be supplied with more limited exceptions; and
• introduction of a procedure under which a person may be allowed to circumvent a TPM in order to make non-infringing uses of copyright material, where the “actual or likely adverse impact on those non-infringing uses is credibly demonstrated in a legislative or administrative proceeding”.

The LACA Committee inquiry is covering the last issue. Submissions are due by 7 October 2005. For further information, click here.

The other issues are being handled by the Attorney-General’s Department. Further information, click here.

For a link to the Attorney-General’s media release, click here.