“Three Strikes” Copyright Infringement Policy Being Considered By Attorney General
Monday 2 June 2014 @ 10.57 a.m. | IP & Media
A spokesman for the Attorney-General’s Department, Andrew Walter, has confirmed that the Government is considering introducing a so-called “three-strikes policy” to respond to copyright infringement. The plan, also called a “graduated response policy”, would require Internet Service Providers (ISPs), to send offenders a series of warning notices before penalising them, either by fining them, cutting them off from the internet and/or initiating litigation against them.
While many content providers are in favour of such a proposal, ISPs and their representatives argue that the issue should not be their responsibility. Calls from the government for the industry to develop a voluntary system have lost momentum since the High Court case Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Limited [2012] HCA 16, which found that iiNet had not authorised infringement by its customers of the appellants’ copyright. Attorney –General Brandis told ZDNet that:
“A lot of the pressure on the ISPs to come to the table went away because the ISPs had a very comprehensive victory in the iiNet case… Since the iiNet judgment came down, there has been less willingness from some ISPs to come to the table.”
ISPs remain opposed to any changes. iiNet Chief Regulatory Officer Steve Dalby told CNET that:
“The rights holders are still insisting ISP's should perform work on their behalf instead of addressing what we have always said is the root cause of the infringements - the limited accessibility to desirable content and the discriminatory and high cost of content in Australia… Infringements are a symptom - access is the problem.”
ZDNet has also reported that the Attorney-General has “been meeting with a number of lobby groups on the issue of copyright since the election.” During last week’s session of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, Greens Senator Scott Ludlam asked Senator Brandis if he had met with consumer groups, such as Choice, to discuss their views on copyright infringement. ZDNet reports that Brandis’ reply was:
“There is a very strong public interest in the protection of private property, and that includes the protection of intellectual property.”
In February this year, Attorney-General Brandis warned ISPs that unless they developed a voluntary system, the government would legislate one for them. Andrew Walter told CNET that a graduated response policy was “one option” currently being considered by the government. An “internal working group” within the Department’s Civil Law Division is reportedly studying the issue.
TimeBase is an independent, privately owned Australian legal publisher specialising in the online delivery of accurate, comprehensive and innovative legislation research tools including LawOne and unique Point-in-Time Products.
