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Australian ISPs move to tackle ‘piracy’
THE FIVE major Australian ISPs have revealed plans to cut down on online copyright infringement.
The Communications Alliance will send warnings to downloaders of copyrighted material and will also help rights holders to pursue repeat offenders through the courts. The Alliance represents Telstra Bigpond, Iinet, Optus, Iprimus and Internode.
The proposed "education-based Notice Scheme" follows discussions held earlier this year between ISPs, the Australian federal government and rights holders.
The Communications Alliance said its aim is to "educate" customers, "many of whom may not be aware that their online activity could be illegal".
The proposed scheme does not provide for termination of consumers' internet accounts, or for any "punitive sanctions" to be imposed on customers by ISPs. It also gives consumers the right to appeal if they receive a notice but believe that they have not done anything improper.
In a statement, Communications Alliance CEO John Stanton said, "We believe the Notice Scheme can greatly reduce online copyright infringement in Australia, while protecting consumer rights, educating consumers about how to access legal online content and helping Rights Holders to protect their rights."
He continued, "Equally important is the need for Rights Holders to ensure that consumers have access to legal and affordable content online, to reduce the motivation to source content in ways that might be illegal."
The proposed scheme will be launched on a trial basis over an 18 month period, followed by an independent evaluation of its effectiveness.
Stanton said the evaluation will also be informed by the growing body of international experience in other jurisdictions where varying types of online copyright schemes are being implemented, such as in the UK, New Zealand, Canada, France and the USA.
He added that the proposal by ISPs will require further consultation with rights holders, consumer representatives, the federal government and the broader ISP sector before full details and an implementation timetable can be finalised. µ
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this 'scheme' is not going to make people buy what they don't want in the first place. i usually try before i buy, if a movie is worth owning, I'll end up buying it on blu ray. all this is going to do, is make me change my Internet download limit to a cheaper plan, or, change ISP's altogether. I don't make money from my downloads, nor is film distribution companies missing out on my purchase, because i wouldn't buy it in the first place if it's crap. I find this an invasion of privacy. first it's piracy, then it's freedom of information .
So it's ok to invade people's privacy in order to save the greedy pigs a few bucks. This is martial law at a snail's pace so nobody notices. It starts off "protecting" copy write material, next thing they are breaking down your front door because you viewed an anti-government website that they don't want you to see...
Next...Internet kill switch anyone?
I am using Optus as an Australian user with a 500GB download limit. If they implement this I will change my ISP or more likely just use a proxy. My speed will die, but with Blue rays in retail stores costing upwards of $32 for new releases (for a single Bluray), I need to know that Im not spending $32+ on a piece of crap (and this is at the cheapest stores). I have hundreds of dvds and blu rays. I see downloading as a try before I buy because lets face it, Hollywood doesnt make emmy award winning performance quality movies every movie. The Prices in Australia are ridiculous. The internet is not cheap either and we dont get very good speeds yet either. These tactics to prevent people from downloading what they want will only assuage other people to create another Occupy Wall Street Movement here in Australia.
So Peter all you want is one complaint from these greedy organisations that have a terrible record of getting it wrong on identifying who's doing what for people to be prosecuted? And you also want the fines to be $10k per copy?
Where is the justification when people are getting off with a slap on the wrist for real crimes like assasult and DUI?
The average price for a DVD's and software these days is beyond a joke. Piracy will always be enticing to those such as myself who feel that current retail prices are unfairly inflated.
There are also a plethora of tools available that effectively make it next to impossible for any Australian Anti-P2P organization to snatch our IP's whilst we download pirated material. I have never received a copyright infringement notice in the ten years I've been with my current ISP thanks to these programs.
Good luck stopping us all.
...then you know illegal use of copyright material is a crime. One warning notice should be it before prosecution begins and the fines should be $10K per copy.