Federal Government to start more consultation on safe harbours

The Federal Government is about to embark on further consultation with the entertainment and digital sectors on the extension of the safe harbour provisions of the Copyright Act prior to introducing legislation.

“An expanded safe harbour regime would provide a useful mechanism for rights holders to have material that infringes their copyright removed from online service providers,” saidMitch Fifield, Minister for the Department of Communications and the Arts.

“An expanded regime would also ensure that service providers are not held responsible for the infringing actions of their users, provided they take reasonable steps to take down material that infringes copyright.”

He pointed out, “The extension of safe harbour to cover online service providers, not just internet service providers, has been the subject of inquiry and public debate for over a decade.”

The vexed debate is: to what extent online services be held responsible for copyright infringements by their users, or for content like ads posted by users?

Current safe harbour laws protect these services, but they lose that protection if they are alerted to the problem but fail to address it.

Fifield continued: “The Government’s intention is to develop safe harbour legislation that encourages the growth of Australia’s digital economy, [and] supports a thriving and vibrant creative sector, while supporting the interests of copyright holders.”

The Government’s copyright legislation changes include provisions to enable websites promoting piracy to be blocked and reforms currently before the Parliament to improve access to works for people with disabilities, reforms to educational licensing provisions and changes to improve the ability of libraries and archives to make preservation copies of materials and access unpublished works.

Dr Heather Smith PSM, Secretary of the Department of Communications and the Arts, will oversee a series of meetings and roundtable discussions with stakeholders on the proposed changes.

The Department has been asked to provide advice by early June to enable the Government to continue to progress the copyright reform process.

Dan Rosen, CEO of the Australian Recording Industry Association, responded: “A safe harbour scheme which reflects the current landscape and supports the interests of rights holders can encourage the continued growth of the Australian digital economy.

“We look forward to working with the department to put in place a robust safe harbour scheme that can work for all and promote a thriving and vibrant local creative sector.”

Music Australia, which represents the creative community, earlier expressed concern that safe harbour was being extended to a range of organisations that were not meant to benefit from the scheme.

“Extending safe harbours in the way the Government proposes would give scope to all service providers including the large tech companies to use creative content including music, sometimes for little or no payment,” CEO Chris Bowen said.

“It would also enable them to avoid genuine commercial negotiations with rights holders. This has been the experience in the US and the EU.”

Ed Husic, the Labor Opposition’s digital economy spokesperson, complained that continued consultation and reviews were wasting time “while Australian companies are completely squeezed out”.

Husic believes that the Government should be doing more to help Australian tech companies thrive and innovate, rather than pander to larger rights holders as Foxtel and News Ltd.

He has expressed concern that Australian start-ups, making a mark on the globe, will be forced to move from Australia.

More information about Australian Copyright Law can be found at: www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/copyright