Category: Copyright

Copyright law and reform, both commercial and non-commercial

Pirate Party Australia demands continued legislative independence

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Leaks of information regarding the highly secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) negotiations have prompted Pirate Party Australia to call for a reclamation of Australian sovereignty.

The most recent leak, published by KEI Online, show that while the United States negotiators publicly said they would be pushing for protection of fair use, the US and Australia were advocating for stricter limitations to copyright exceptions[1].

Other negotiating parties present – New Zealand, Chile, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam – put forward proposals that would allow exceptions and limitations to copyright and technological protection measures, and the extension of those exceptions into the “digital environment.” Both of these proposals were opposed by the US and Australia.

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Pirate Party Australia Webcast – Episode 4

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In this episode Sam covers some recent news, plays a speech by Simon Frew at a rally for Julian Assange, does a pirate profile on Grant Muir  and reads the fourth and final installment of The History of Copyright. Subscribe to the feed, or view past episodes.

News:
ACTA defeated in European Parliament – Techdirt, Falkvinge
ALRC Copyright Review – ALRC.gov.au
ACT Membership Drive
PPAU Congress 2012 – wiki page

Julian Assange & Wikileaks Support Protest:
YouTube video

Pirate Profile: Grant Muir

History Of Copyright:
No Safe Harbour book
Rick Falkvinge’s Blog (links to the 7 original blog entries)

Quote:
“As the Americans learned so painfully in Earth’s final century, free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once-chained people whose leaders at last lose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.” – from the computer game Alpha Centauri by Sid Meier.

Podcast (webcast): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:43 — 19.0MB)

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ACTA Crushed in EU – Pirate Party Celebrates

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Today, in spectacular fashion, the secretly negotiated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement was voted down in the European Parliament by a landslide 478 – 39.

Rodney Serkowski, founder of Pirate Party Australia and active campaigner against ACTA said, “The crushing defeat of this secretly negotiated and undemocratic agreement is a stunning victory for civil liberties and their primacy in the intellectual property rights debate. It is fitting that on July 4, Independence Day, the EU has declared its ‘independence’ from American special interests.”[1]

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Pirate Party Cautiously Welcomes ACTA Report

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Pirate Party Australia cautiously welcomes the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties’ (JSCOT) report on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which recommends delaying ratification of the secretive Agreement until certain criteria are met[1].

The report makes many recommendations based on concerns Pirate Party Australia and others raised in submissions to JSCOT, particularly the necessity to define certain terms which have made the Agreement highly ambiguous and subject to varied interpretations. One such concern was the lack of methodology to differentiate between non-commercial and commercial rights infringements.

The Pirate Party is pleased with the report, which also draws attention to the current lack of support for the Agreement within the European Union, where five different European Parliamentary Committees have all recommended ACTA be rejected. These committees found that the Agreement was not economically or legally appropriate, nor did it conform to human rights obligations.

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Government should follow EU in rejecting ACTA, says Pirate Party

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In a decisive victory for democracy and civil liberties, the Committee on International Trade has recommended that the European Parliament reject the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Pirate Party Australia welcomes this victory against opaque, anachronistic and exclusionary policy.

Although Australia has already signed the agreement, the text is currently under consideration by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. The Pirate Party has said on many occasions[1][2] that the agreement must be rejected, and that Australia still has the opportunity to withdraw from the agreement. Australia’s withdrawal would pave the way for industry-specific approaches and reforms, rather than the blanket ‘solution’ provided by ACTA.

“The rejection of ACTA by four consecutive committees — including the Committee on International Trade — is damning of the text, process and intent of this agreement. It raises larger questions about the process of treaty making in Australia. It is imperative that we move toward greater transparency in such processes. Texts, drafts and negotiations must be made public. Civil society must be included from the very beginning of any initiative,” said Brendan Molloy, Party Secretary.

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