2023 looks to be an important year for copyright in Australia, as the Australian Government (“Government”) have announced that they will be conducting a review of current copyright enforcement measures [1], which is to ensure that copyrighted material (music included) stays “appropriate, effective and proportionate.” To coincide with the announcement, Australia’s Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus and his Department have released a paper for public consultation (PDF version here). You’ve still got time to give it a read as the consultation ends on the 7th of March 2023.
This isn’t the first time the Government has committed to significant reform through resources, in fact, over the last five years, several copyright-related initiatives were launched.
For 2023 and beyond, the Government wants to put trigger-enforceable measures available under – the already-existing copyright law. The first stage of that process begins with an issue paper published by the Attorney General’s Department.
Copyright Law in Australia
Here is a little bit of history for you: Copyright in Australia is governed by the Copyright Act 1968, which oversees copyright in relation to original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, and subject matter other than works (a.k.a film, TV, music, online-related content, et al.).
Through the Copyright Enforcement Review, the Government hopes to understand current and emerging enforcement priorities and challenges faced in the existing framework and its limited aspects, as shown in the diagram below:
The Government is seeking public consultation from certain stakeholders from “parts of the copyright system”, which includes service providers (internet, telecommunications, production, studios etc), users (you/me), institutions (conglomerates, universities, etc.) and others, which the Government hopes will help them determine if actual changes will be required to protect the multifaceted sector moving forward.
Submissions for consultation can be made through the Australian Government website here.
Reference
[1] — Aspects of this news post come from TorrentFreak: Australia Launches Copyright Enforcement Review & Consultation
