APRA AMCOS applauds Australia’s extension of safe harbour provisions

The music industry has responded favourably to moves by the Federal Government has extended copyright safe harbour provisions to a range of parties aside from just commercial internet service providers (ISP).

APRA AMCOS issued a statement to TMN, “APRA AMCOS welcomes this sensible and measured reform.

“In particular, we support the Government’s decision to specifically exclude from the broader safe harbour those online services (such as social media platforms) that make available and financially benefit from the exploitation of others’ copyright material.”

APRA AMCOS will post a full statement on its website later today, with other associations set to follow.

Safe harbour protects ISPs from legal action for copyright infringement by users on their platforms. The argument is that with so much content being uploaded – 400 hours of video every minute on YouTube – it would be unreasonable to expect the ISPs to check.

So they’re protected from legal action if they “unknowingly” host infringing material as long as they are taking “reasonable” steps to remove that content.

With the approval of the recorded music sector, Google and Facebook have been left off the new Australian list.

But it’s a blow to the tech sector, which says that start-ups will be affected.

The Government was initially going to include Google and Facebook in a proposal in March.

But various rights groups from TV and media – as well as the Australian Recording Industry Association putting forward the music industry’s concerns – argued that rights holders in the U.S. and Europe where safe harbour provisions exist had to wage expensive court battles to have copyright material pulled down.

They said that the likes of Google and Facebook exploited user-generated content without compensating the creators, andGoogle and Facebook vigorously lobbied the Government.

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said that eventually the criteria for inclusion was based on those sectors that “provide beneficial services to all Australians and who are working collaboratively with copyright owners to address infringement”.

These included institutions in the disability, education, library, archive and cultural sectors.

There will be further consultation on whether online platforms should eventually be included.

Minister Fifield said,“In so doing, the government will be mindful of the need to ensure the rights of creators are properly protected. Australia’s copyright framework ensures that creators can receive a fair return for their work.

“Australia’s copyright industries make a significant contribution to our economic and cultural life, including collectively generating approximately $122.8 billion in economic activity, $6.5 billion in exports and employing more than one million Australians.”

Fifield stressed that the move would make the Australian copyright sector more competitive and innovative as a result.

See the Minister’s full statement here.

The tech sector argued that the new copyright amendment would be a blow to tech start-ups who have a lot of user-generated content on their platforms.

Advocacy group StartupAus says that under this legislative regime, Australia risks losing promising early-stage companies and platforms as RedBubble and Envato to overseas.

StartupAus’s Chief Operating Officer Alex Gruszka called it a “very disappointing decision” in InnnovationAus.com.

He added, “We continue to lag behind others that have employed such a scheme, including the U.S., U.K., Europe, South Korea and Singapore.

“We continue to have a significant barrier to starting a business like Google, Facebook, YouTube, SnapChat, Reddit or Pinterest.”

RedBubble, valued at $225 million, is battling a number of copyright infringement cases by users.