It looks like the usual set of carrots and sticks are being dished out but as always its best to get a proper analysis of the situation for yourself and its likely affects on you .
Here is the slycks story link
http://www.slyck.com/story1363.htmlThe link below delves into a lot more detail and is a recommended read for those users in New Zealand and other nations who are currently undergoing legal changes in this area.
http://weatherall.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_weatherall_archive#116544811193922328Let's have a quick squiz at the new kid on the block, the Copyright (New Technologies and Performers' Rights) Amendment Bill 2006 (New Zealand).
So what does it do?
Well, for an international audience, it does the WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty - plus some stuff on exceptions reflecting the current debate over private copying. For an Australian audience, it basically does the Digital Agenda stuff, plus a bit of stuff from some of our more recent amendments:
It expands (or clarifies) the reproduction right to include electronic copies - and creates an exception for transient/incidental copying worded along the European lines (copying not an infringement if it is transient or incidental, a necessary part of a technological process for making communication or enabling lawful use, and if it has no independent economic significance (whatever that means)).
It introduces the 'right of communication to the public' - to replace the broadcast/cable rights (like Australia did in 2000)
It seems to go further even than the current draft of the Broadcasters Rights Treaty - but giving webcasters, as well as broadcasters, a copyright right in their 'signal' (known as 'communication works'). It also removes Pay TV's right to retransmit Free To Air TV for free;
It limits the liability of ISPs for direct and indirect infringement;
It writes new anti-circumvention laws: expanding the existing, very limited provisions and introducing a criminal offence for commercial dealings with circumvention devices (more on this below);
It protects electronic rights management information, and introduces a criminal offence for commercial dealings with circumvention devices;
it clarifies and amends certain exceptions: including fair dealing, library, archival, and educational use, and time shifting (there's a whole bunch of educational and library provisions)
it introduces new exceptions for format-shifting of sound recordings for private and domestic use (more on this below), and for decompilation and error correction of software.
The idea is that all the amendments will be reviewed within 5 years of enactment.
My summary? This law is a really strange - make that bizarre - mix of weird expansions of rights (particularly, the extension of property rights to webcasters and perhaps beyond - well beyond what the Broadcasters' Rights Treaty will do), exceptions that won't work (look at the format-shifting and time-shifting exceptions) - and TPM laws that look much better than anything I've seen anywhere else in the world.
This blogger seems to have his focus set well on these important matters, a welcome change from the often watered down reports shown elsewhere, great work
