Sunday Copykat

Australia grapples over fair dealing or fair utilisation – alongside Australian collection social club channelling fees intended for authors into ‘fair-use opposition fund’

The potential replacement of fair dealing provisions alongside fair utilisation provisions has been a hot topic inwards Commonwealth of Australia for around years now. Both fair dealing too fair utilisation component every bit exceptions too limitations to the exclusive rights granted to copyright holders.

 

Fair dealing – found inside many of the mutual police describe jurisdictions of ex-Commonwealth Nations – entails the exceptions too limitations existence prescribed inwards detailed statutory provisions. The UK’s Copyright, Designs too Patents Act 1988 section 40 of the Australian Copyright Act 1968 provides for fair dealing for the utilisation of question or study – “A fair dealing alongside a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, or alongside an adaptation of a literary, dramatic or musical work, for the utilisation of question or study does non constitute an infringement of the copyright inwards the work.”

In contrast, the fair utilisation doctrine is a essay to endure applied to allegedly infringing uses of copyrighted works. In the U.S., the factors to endure considered when examining the utilisation of the run are (s 107 of the Copyright Law of the United States);

1. The utilisation too graphic symbol of the use, including whether such utilisation is of a commercial nature or is for non-profit educational purposes;

2. The nature of the copyrighted work;

3. The sum too substantiality of the portion used inwards relation to the copyrighted run every bit a whole; too

4. The upshot of the utilisation upon the potential marketplace for or value of the copyrighted work.

There are those inside Commonwealth of Australia that fence against the introduction of fair utilisation too wishing to maintain the fair dealing approach. And, of course, at that topographic point are those who wishing to abolish the fair dealing approach too institute fair use.

One especial instrumentalist that is strongly opposed to the introduction of a organisation of fair utilisation is the Copyright Agency – Australia’s collection society. Its Corporate Governance Statement wrote inwards the Sydney Morning Herald that the establishment of a fair utilisation regime “would allow large enterprises to utilisation copyright textile for their ain purposes either for costless or a real significantly reduced charge per unit of measurement to what they currently pay today nether our copyright organisation … PwC has estimated that the introduction of such a organisation inwards Commonwealth of Australia would final result inwards the loss of gross domestic product inwards the monastic enjoin of $1 billion [Aus].”

The Copyright Agency has ready aside a $15 1000000 [Aus] fund specifically to oppose the implementation of a fair-use system. Astonishingly, this staggering sum constitutes payments made to the Copyright Agency for the utilisation of orphan works. Works are classified every bit orphan plant when the author cannot reasonably endure found. The Copyright Agency – a collection social club – has been collecting fees from educational establishments for the utilisation of orphan works, yet volition belike never overstep these fees on to the authors of the works. Instead, it has been channelling those fees into a fund used to crusade to steer copyright policy. 

In around other view slice inwards the Sydney Morning Herald, Peter Martin reported that, before 2013, the Copyright Agency retained the funds generated from orphan plant for a menses of 4 years, thus distributed those funds to its members. Since 2013, these monies bring been channelled to the fund to oppose fair use.

In defending the creation of the fund, Kim Williams argued that “The ground for provisioning this coin is simple: whatever board that does non prudently provision for the peril of a calamitous regulatory alter which is existence pushed past times entities every bit powerful every bit the Australian Digital Alliance would endure guilty of extreme negligence.”

The Australian debate over the implementation of a fair utilisation organisation volition no doubtfulness maintain for around time. Importantly however, the channelling of collection fees – originally meant to recompense authors – inwards monastic enjoin to influence policy debate could endure argued every bit somewhat controversial.

Dancing infant instance is 10 years quondam – too silent going!

In Oct 2016, the Supreme Court signalled its willingness to hear the dancing baby instance when it invited the U.S. Solicitor General to limited the government’s view on the case, too before this calendar month the Solicitor General’s brief was here, too over at the IPKat here too here. Recent updates found here too video of the sombre courtroom listening to Lose Yourself has provided amusement for many on the internet. Look out for a conclusion on this interesting sound-alike instance inwards the coming weeks or months.

 Honeypot Copyright Troll reaches halt of the line

John Steele – Prenda Law attorney – has been disbarred past times the Illinois Supreme Court. Amongst other dishonest activites, Prenda Law was inwards the exercise of uploading their ain torrents to The Pirate Bay inwards monastic enjoin to do a honeypot; they would afterwards sue people that had joined inwards alongside the seeding. Steele was defendant of running a multi-million dollar fraud too extortion operation.

The courtroom listed diverse types of misconduct, including “conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, past times acquit including filing lawsuits without supporting facts, nether the names of entitites similar Ingenuity thirteen too AF Holdings, which were created … for purposes of exacting settlements.”

Steele’s trolling “had no substantial utilisation other than to embarrass or burden a tertiary person”.

The Eminem motion-picture exhibit is shared alongside the sort permission of the author Mika-photography.

The troll graphic is shared alongside the sort permission of the author EFF-Graphics.