Hello,
I saw an article (pasted in full at the end of the email)
sent to AUSNOG. It said:
"International internet pirates who illegally share stolen
films and music could soon be blocked, after the government
introduced a bill to shut down access to websites infringing
copyright.
The law will enable copyright holders to apply for court
orders forcing ISPs such as Telstra to block a website
providing links to pirated content."
"The move, which has been highly effective in Britain..."
Is this the case there? Hollywood can tell the gov't there
to tell the ISPs to block web sites it doesn't like?
scott
Malcolm Turnbull targets net pirates in new bill
THE AUSTRALIAN
MARCH 27, 2015 12:00AM
International internet pirates who illegally share stolen films and
music could soon be blocked, after the government introduced a bill to
shut down access to websites infringing copyright.
The law will enable copyright holders to apply for court orders forcing
ISPs such as Telstra to block a website providing links to pirated
content.
If the bill is enacted, the legislation will be a major victory for
content providers and could open the floodgates to claims by companies
that want to stop internet users freely exchanging movies, television
programs, music and games.
The move, which has been highly effective in Britain, is the latest
response in a series of soft measures aimed at stamping out piracy
following unprecedented industry co-operation between ISPs and content
creators
The media and entertainment industries have already taken steps to make
more content legally available in step with consumer consumption habits,
including making eagerly awaited US TV dramas available to watch in
Australia at the same time as they air overseas.
Other solutions include the adoption of the successful US graduated
response scheme whereby ISPs issue notices to primary account-holders
repeatedly violating copyright infringement rules.
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull introduced the The Copyright
(Online Infringement) Bill 2015 yesterday, costing telcos an estimated
$130,000 a year.
“Existing copyright law is not adequate to deter a specific type of
infringing activity, which is the facilitation of the online
infringement of copyright owners’ content ... by online operators,” Mr
Turnbull said in the lower house. “There are a number of foreign-based
online locations that disseminate large amounts of infringing content to
Australian internet users.”
Under the proposal, rights holders can apply to the Federal Court for an
injunction. The law applies only to sites hosted outside of Australia.
Mr Turnbull said existing remedies for rights holders seeking against
websites in Australia were sufficient.
The bill has been drafted to also put file-sharing sites at risk of
being blocked. Millions use these sites to move large files off their
computers, holding the stolen material in the cloud. Internet users
sometimes upload files such as music or films to enable others to access
the material in breach of copyright.
It has been estimated that piracy has cost the Australian economy more
than $1.3 billion in revenue in just 12 months.
The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft found piracy was
widespread and was taking a massive toll on the movie industry.
