While the bill is designed to target bittorrent sites, such as the pirate bay, there are concerns other. Vpn providers say business will boom after antipiracy bill passes senate will ockenden reported this story on tuesday, june 23, 2015 12. Final text of bill agreed to by both the house of representatives and the senate which is presented to the governorgeneral for assent. By becoming a member, you can stay ahead of legal issues while staying on top of costs. Kramer law building, middle campus university of cape town private bag x3, rondebosch 7701 south africa tel. Jun 22, 2015 the legislation allows rights holders to go to a federal court judge to get overseas websites, or online locations, blocked that have the primary purpose of facilitating infringement. Review of the copyright online infringement amendment. Australia has one of the highest online piracy rates in the world. New australian laws could make virtual private networks illegal. On the controversial topic of whether allowing derivative work in hong kong, intense debate occurs in the city. One only needs to consider the popular television series game of thrones, the season 5 premiere of which was downloaded illegally via torrent websites over 150,000 times by australians alone. Censorship reaches a new height in australia liquidvpn. Jul 15, 2019 how using a dns renders the online infringement bill useless bypassing the governments websiteblocking regime is as simple as changing your dns settings.
If someone in australia uses a vpn to download a copy of material from an overseas website and they do not have permission from the. If vpn sites are blocked in australia, you can always build. Assurance that using a vpn to circumvent a geoblock and access legitimate content does not infringe. He also pointed out that there is no provision enabling consumers to be represented at any stage in the process, with the accc and the acma being the only people to be able to apply to revoke a block apart from the rights holder, carriage service provider or the people behind the affected site. How dns renders the online infringement bill useless. People who are against recreation deem it necessary to introduce legislation to regulate or even prohibit derivative work, with an aim to protect the reputation and interest of the original author. Will rewriting lyrics for songs be covered by any exception. Apr 20, 2015 after attorneygeneral george brandis and communications minister malcolm turnbull asked the australian cabinet to approve the development of a new legal mechanism allowing rightsholders to obtain. Copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015 parliament. Will the posting of an earnest performance of a work on the internet constitute a infringement. Over the past few weeks, netflix has been cracking down on australians that use virtual private networks vpns to access the companys much larger us library. Amendment online infringement bill 2015the bill to the senate legal and constitutional affairs committee. Websites that have the primary purpose of infringing or facilitating the infringement of are now liable to be blocked by an injunction of the federal court on application by rights holders.
The websiteblocking bill is a key pillar of the governments crackdown on online infringement, along with an industrydeveloped antipiracy code. Torrentfreak, for the latest info on, filesharing, torrent sites and anonymous vpn services. The bill copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015 will allow movie studios and other rights holders to apply for court orders to. Jun 24, 2015 fortunately, virtual private networks vpn have not been directly targeted under this bill, so you have vpn in australia to circumvent georestriction, and surf the web as you use to surf before this bill was passed. Final text of bill agreed to by both the house of representatives and the senate which is presented to the governor. Where someone is using a vpn to access, for example, netflix from the united states to get content in respect of which netflix does not have an australian licence, this bill would not deal with that, because you could not say that netflix in the united states has as its primary purpose the infringement, or facilitation of the infringement, of. New australian laws could make virtual private networks. Prepared if the bill is amended by the house in which it was introduced. This bill establishes a legal process to block access to websites like this.
Accompanies and provides an explanation of the content of the introduced version first reading of the bill. Exclusion of websites that merely facilitate online infringement. Copyright amendment bill as introduced in the national assembly proposed section 75. Timebase senate committee report on copyright amendment. The bill takes up this second proposal with some amendments based on. A new law being considered by the government to reduce online piracy may result in vpns virtual private network being blocked or made illegal in australia. Where someone is using a vpn to access netflix in the united states to get content in respect of which netflix does not have an australian licence, this bill would not deal with that because you could not say that netflix in the united states has, as its primary purpose, the infringement or facilitation of the infringement of. Vpn providers say business will boom after antipiracy bill. Turnbulls piracy crackdown and the fate of vpns the australian. In australia, the result is the copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015, which looks to give digital rights holders more control over their content. There are a lot of vpn providers out there and most of them are blacklisted and cannot be trusted. Choice is calling on parliament to ensure the bill, if passed, provides adequate safeguards for the public interest, including. Australian copyright censorship bill could block vpns and.
Apr 21, 2015 a new law being considered by the government to reduce online piracy may result in vpns virtual private network being blocked or made illegal in australia. Apr 17, 2015 vpns could be blocked under proposed australian legislation, say choice. The law amendment means intellectual property rights holders, like hollywood movie companies, will be able to launch cases in the federal court of australia to force a carriage service. How using a dns renders the online infringement bill useless bypassing the governments websiteblocking regime is as simple as changing your dns settings. Australian government passes site blocking legislation lexology. The poorly drafted copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015 joins the. The steamroller that is the enforcement machine continues to trundle along around the world, flattening obstacles such as fair use, privacy and freedom of expression in its path. Accan focuses on goods and services encompassed by the converging areas of telecommunications, the internet and broadcasting. Censorship reaches a new height in australia australia, this week, was able to pass internet restrictions that not even the uk or the us has been able to enact. Jun 30, 2015 c the primary purpose of the online location is to infringe, or to facilitate the infringement of, whether or not in australia. Australian parliament passes controversial new laws allowing rights holders to force service providers to block websites deemed. Amendments to copyright act will strengthen holders. Copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015 parlinfo.
Vpns could be blocked under proposed australian legislation, say choice. Site blocking laws could drag vpns into the antipiracy. Golegal is a leading industry news and information portal for the south african legal sector, catering to attorneys, corporate counsel, legal scholars, policy makers and other corporate and legal interest groups. Jul 27, 2015 australia has one of the highest online piracy rates in the world. Vpn friendly aussie pirate site blocking draft unveiled. Text of the bill as introduced into the parliament third reading. Australia considers new copyright law that could be. If vpn sites are blocked in australia, you can always. Government gazette, 27 july 2015 amendment of section 6 of act 98 of 1978 4. Amendment online infringement bill 2015 the bill to the senate legal and constitutional affairs committee. The legislation allows rights holders to go to a federal court judge to get overseas websites, or online locations, blocked that have the primary purpose of. The court will also take into consideration whether a site has already been blocked on infringement or related grounds anywhere else on the planet. Australia cyber bill website blocking law for australians.
Debate on the copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015. Get a vpn subscription to avoid piracy bill in australia. Final text of bill agreed to by both the house of representatives and the senate which is presented to the. Mar 27, 2015 where someone is using a vpn to access netflix in the united states to get content in respect of which netflix does not have an australian licence, this bill would not deal with that because you could not say that netflix in the united states has, as its primary purpose, the infringement or facilitation of the infringement of.
This digest does not have any official legal status. That is, once you buy a physical book, you can do whatever you want with it without violating other. If someone in australia uses a vpn to download a copy of material from an overseas website and they do. If this primary recommendation is not accepted, a requirement be added to proposed section 115a1b that the infringement or facilitation of the infringement of by the online location be flagrant. Australias peak body for consumer representation in communications. Government releases exposure draft of copyright act amendment. Debate on the copyright amendment online infringement. Fortunately, virtual private networks vpn have not been directly targeted under this bill, so you have vpn in australia to circumvent georestriction, and surf the web as you use to surf before this bill was passed. Its easy to brush off online piracy as simply being the status quo.
It reflects the legislation as introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. After attorneygeneral george brandis and communications minister malcolm turnbull asked the australian cabinet to approve the development of a new legal mechanism allowing rightsholders to obtain. Jun 15, 2015 get a vpn subscription to avoid piracy bill in australia. Letter from south african and american academics to ms meshendri padayachi south africa department of trade and industry joint academic comment pdf accompanying table pdf we write in response to your request for public comments on south africas planned legislation reform. Legalvision is a techdriven, fullservice commercial law firm that uses technology to deliver a faster, better quality and more costeffective client experience. One of its latest stops has been in australia, where that countrys siteblocking laws, first. Under this legislation owners will be able to apply to the federal court requiring internet service providers isps to block access to overseas websites, like pirate bay, which have the primary purpose of infringing, or facilitating the. How to unblock the pirate bay in australia best 10 vpn. Commentary on the copyright amendment bill 2015 by. Debate on the copyright amendment online infringement bill. The copyright amendment online infringement bill 2015 passed both houses of. Australian senate passes controversial antipiracy, website. How dns renders the online infringement bill useless finder. Jun 19, 2015 where someone is using a vpn to access, for example, netflix from the united states to get content in respect of which netflix does not have an australian licence, this bill would not deal with that, because you could not say that netflix in the united states has as its primary purpose the infringement, or facilitation of the infringement, of.
Jul 10, 2015 upon application from holders, the court can impose an order on isps, requiring these entities to block access to piracy websites that specifically operate outside australia. Commentary on the copyright amendment bill 2015 by the anton mostert chair of intellectual property law department of mercantile law, faculty of law stellenbosch university. The world today vpn providers say business will boom. Mar 26, 2015 the court will also take into consideration whether a site has already been blocked on infringement or related grounds anywhere else on the planet. This version of the bill is then considered by the second house. Copyright, pirates and vpns arts law centre of australia. I have used the example of an australian using a vpn to create the. According to choice, vpns are used by more than 650,000 australians to access online shopping stores and to legally access content from international sites.
The department of communications is asking for submissions from interested stakeholders. No, no, this bill is more along the lines of censorshiprich countries like turkey, syria, russia, singapore, and china. Vpn and site blocking attacked by consumer group torrentfreak. Its easy to brush off online piracy as simply being the. The way i understand it, the right of first sale applies to physical content but not digital. Site blocking laws could drag vpns into the antipiracy net. Many australians use a vpn to access netflix in the us. Jun 23, 2015 vpn providers say business will boom after antipiracy bill passes senate will ockenden reported this story on tuesday, june 23, 2015 12. Australias antipiracy law explained expressvpn blog. Mar 27, 2015 c the primary purpose of the online location is to infringe, or to facilitate the infringement of, whether or not in australia. Torguard is one of my best vpns for unblocking the pirate bay in australia, but they are also my favorite vpn to use anywhere in the world since they have so many servers, kill switches, and they also have the fastest speeds that ive found for torrenting.
Section 6 of the principal act is hereby amended by the addition after paragraph g of. The online infringement amendment enables a owner to apply to the federal court of australia to block access to an online location operated outside australia with the primary purpose of infringing or facilitating infringement of content. Government adds fair use, safe harbour provisions to. Apr 29, 2015 the steamroller that is the enforcement machine continues to trundle along around the world, flattening obstacles such as fair use, privacy and freedom of expression in its path. Choice does not believe that the bill should be implemented because it is unlikely to reduce. We represent residential consumers and small businesses including notfor profit organisations in so far as they are consumers.
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