Photographer : Mabon Llyr
In early November, Apple released its latest, ‘must-have’ digital toy: a brand new iShuffle that is smaller and longer lasting than its predecessors.
While many of us have probably stared longingly at this new music player, probably very few of us were aware of the controversies affecting digital music players because of Australian copyright law.
The federal government is about to pass the Copyright Amendment Bill 2006 which will change what you and I can legally do with our iPods and other MP3 players. In America, normal iPod use is legal. In Australia, probably not.
When the 200-page Bill was released, I read the “format-shifting” exception aimed at making it legal for us to convert music CDs onto our MP3 players and thought Great! The Government is finally doing something for digital music users! Making it legal for me to copy CDs onto my iPod almost made up for my enormous HECS-HELP debt.
Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for that old sinking feeling to settle in… as the days passed, more problems began to rear their ugly heads. The Bill is being shuffled through Parliament at top speed, so that it is passed by the time Santa brings us our iShuffles. In such a short time? This is not going to be the most carefully considered piece of legislation.
One major problem: the way the ‘format-shifting’ exception is worded means that it doesn’t actually permit normal iPod use!! This “Exception” allows you to make one copy of a song, but to copy a song from a CD to an iPod requires making two copies through your computer. The Government recognises this issue and promises to fix it…but we ain’t seen nothing yet.
Many of us under-25s don’t earn a lot of money and technology is expensive—iPods, mobile phones and CD burners all cost a fair bit of cash. But in addition to this, under the Bill, anyone can be slapped with an expensive fine for “possessing” these devices, because they can be used to make “infringing copies” of songs protected by copyright.
Even more concerning is that this criminal offence is now a “strict liability” offence, so it doesn’t matter if you don’t know what you did was illegal. Even if you don’t, you can still be charged.
The irony is that Attorney-General Philip Ruddock keeps referring to iPods specifically and making their use legal, but as it stands at the moment, if the law is passed as is, all iPod owners could be charged with a criminal offence.
iPod? $380. Potential fine if prosecuted for offence? $6600. The look on a mother’s face when told her daughter is a copyright criminal? Priceless!!
And that’s not all, folks…many provisions in the Bill are broad, detrimental to copyright users and potentially very harmful to many Australian consumers, but particularly to young people.
We use a lot of materials that may be protected by copyright and won’t always realise if what we are doing is against the law. Yet the Government still wants to pass these laws, without telling us the consequences for how we use technology and music.
The Government has said that it’s not going after ordinary consumers, but only “copyright pirates”—people who get a commercial gain from copyright infringement. If individuals are not supposed to be caught by these provisions, then the Bill should be amended to focus only on those who are the targets.
Laws can be misused and we need to be particularly concerned about laws that could have significant implications for many Australians. You might think your 14-year-old sister is irritating but does she really deserve to be labelled a “copyright criminal” for using her mobile phone to record part of the Pink concert she’s going to and sharing it with her friends?
I can hear you asking “What can I do?!?!” as you sit at your computer, surrounded by borrowed CDs that you fear may be a one-way ticket to jail. Before you bury your stash, calm down—the law hasn’t been passed yet and there is still time to make a difference.
Contact your federal Member of Parliament: If you don’t know who that is go to
http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/Who/profiles/state.htm and enter your postcode.
Contact the Senators from your State: find them at
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/index.htm
Catherine Bond is a PhD student specialising in copyright law at the University of New South Wales. This opinion does not constitute legal advice and you should consult a lawyer to find out your rights and obligations under copyright law. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not represent those of the University of New South Wales.
