Copyright Legislation Amendment (Fair Go for Fair Use) Bill 2013 Introduced in Senate

The Copyright Legislation Amendment (Fair Go for Fair Use) Bill 2013 (CTH) was introduced into the Senate on 27 June 2013, before Parliament closes for election. As a direct reaction to the recommendations proposed by the ALRC (and reported previously) in its report into "Copyright and the Digital Economy", the bill looks at the impact of fair use restrictions among other proposed amendments.

The Bill amends the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) to remove digital locks or technical protection measures (TPMs) that restrict accessibility for the visually impaired and disabled. It also provides a safe harbour legal protection to universities, libraries, schools, cultural institutions and content service providers and ISPs, from being sued for what others may do with materials they have allowed to be accessed.

The purpose of the Bill is to enhance the human right to information. In particular, it removes obstacles to blind, visually impaired and print disabled people accessing information contained in published works in formats such as Braille, large print text and audio books. Removing this obstacle restores the right to equal opportunity to the visually impaired.

By removing geocodes that enforce different prices and conditions of use of content by Australian consumers, it removes barriers to Australians purchasing legitimate content from overseas.

The Bill also introduce a fair use/flexible open-ended exception to the Copyright Act to support digital innovation, reflect consumer expectations and promote fair access to collections in Australian cultural institutions.

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