No punishment for illegal downloading according to proposed laws
Australians should escape punishment for downloading pirated content, according to new copyright laws being proposed to federal cabinet today.
According to Fairfax, Attorney-General George Brandis and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull are developing the laws to stop harsh penalities for repeat illegal downloaders.
Illegal downloaders would initially be sent written notices warning them they’re breaching copyright.
Cabinet is also debating whether Australians should be blocked from accessing overseas websites where pirated movies and TV shows are hosted.
Torrent websites such as The Pirate Bay are blocked in the UK and other European countries.
It’s believed Brandis and Turnbull want internet providers and rights holders to work together on a code with the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
In an online copyright infringement discussion paper released in July, Attorney-General George Brandis outlined the Government's draft plans to force internet providers such as iiNet, Optus and Telstra to discourage online copyright infringements.
Film company Village Roadshow described the move as necessary to fight the "piracy epidemic", the Government proposed amendments to the Copyright Act to provide clearer definitions on the legal liability for piracy.
The Federal Government’s proposals would overrule the 2012 High Court decision, which found that internet service providers could not be found liable for authorising an act by a subscriber that infringes copyright.
29 per cent of adults and teenagers regularly access pirated content online, according to the IP Awareness Foundation, a group set up by the film and television content and distribution industry.
Copyright infringement costs the local film and television sector $1.3 billion per year, a 2011 industry study claimed.
Australians are world-leaders in online piracy, and were consistently leading the globe in the volume of illegal downloads of series four of Game of Thrones.
Morning news break – December 9
