Balancing Copyright: Creator Rights & Public Interest in Digital Age, Slides of Competition Law and Policy

Download Balancing Copyright: Creator Rights & Public Interest in Digital Age and more Slides Competition Law and Policy in PDF only on Docsity! Copyright Ownership Understanding the Extent of Freedom and Protection Docsity.com Outline • Conflicting interests • creators exclusive rights • risk and opportunities of a digital world • dominance of private contract • The Sony Case • Are exceptions enough? Docsity.com Conflicting Interests • Individual – protect rewards to creators for their creative efforts – incentive for individuals to be creative – make it commercially viable to invest in creative endeavours – avoid unjust enrichment Docsity.com Conflicting Interests • Community – promote creativity and innovation Vs – limit monopoly or anti-competitive practices Docsity.com History • What prompted the enactment of the first copyright laws? • Technology - printing press and the concern about the livelihood of authors Docsity.com Where is the balance? • “The primary object of copyright is not to reward the labours of the authors, but to promote the progress of science and the useful arts … to this end copyright assures authors the right to their original expression, but encourages others to build freely upon ideas and information conveyed by a work” Feist v Rural Telephone Services Docsity.com Where is the balance? • Fair Dealing Exceptions: – research and study – criticism and review – software - limited decompilation right for interfacing software • Section 51 of Trade Practices Act exempts IP from restrictions on anti-competitive conduct Docsity.com Extent of Protection • Protection has expanded or tracked with the developments of new technology but the new technology allows for the undermining of legitimate protection needs • Competition law has made way for copyright protection Docsity.com Concern over level of protection • Balance of individual Vs community has shifted in favour of the individual because of contract and technology - user accepts terms or is lock out - it doesn’t get to court • individual can get better than the IP statutes intend Docsity.com Digital Agenda • Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000 – objective was to bring copyright into the digital age – technology neutral – made various changes to definitions including computer programs and literary works Docsity.com Digital Agenda • Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000 • prohibits the importation, manufacture or distribution of “circumvention devices” unless measures are taken to ensure that they are used for permitted purposes Docsity.com Sony v Stevens • Mod chips which allowed non authentic PlayStation games to be played on PlayStation consoles, bypassing the access code and encryption protection mechanism on the console and on authentic games Docsity.com Sony v Stevens • In lower court Justice Sackville held that there was no contravention because Sony’s protection measures did not fall within the definition of a “technological protection measure” – they were not capable of physically preventing or inhibiting copyright infringement – playing game was not an infringement of copyright - no repro of computer program or film Docsity.com Sony v Stevens • Issue - whether a “technological protection measure” includes a device which has the effect of discouraging infringement? Docsity.com Exceptions • Reproducing computer programs to make interoperable products, correct errors and conduct security testing; • library and archive exceptions • parliamentary libraries • disability exceptions • use by the Crown Docsity.com Observations • Exemptions of Digital Agenda are not as broad as the exceptions or exemptions under the Copyright Act • Sony appeal decision now brings Australia into line with the UK • Both Australia and UK laws implementing WIPO Copyright Treaty Docsity.com