Copyright laughs

Here are a couple of comic strips about copyright law - hope you find them funny. They come from the Mimi and Eunice website which is available here.

Happy Holidays

I'm taking a couple of weeks off from blogging while I share the festive season with my family. Thanks for all the comments and for reading my blog this year. I hope next year we see some more changes in the digital music industry including a move away from litigating individuals and new technology developers. Drive safe if you are traveling this time of year and have a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Sally

HTH Grant

The HilltopHoods in conjunction with APRA and AMCOS have just announced the opening of their grant program for 2011. Hip hop artists that have not released a record professionally are entitled to apply for the grant. Winners will be given $10,000 worth of support in the recording of an album. Applications open 17th December 2010 and close 22 February 2011 with the winner announced in March 2011.

Further Reading
APRA/AMCOS, Hilltop Hoods and APRA Support Hip Hop (16 December 2010) <http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/news/allnews/HilltopHoodsandAPRAsupportHipHop.aspx > at 16 December 2010

ACMA and the need for Copyright Reform

The recent ACMA report on the usage of the internet by Australian citizens also details uses of the internet other than entertainment and amusement – these are the uses that are put at risk from a three strikes or graduated response scheme [at pg 15]:

79% Communication – email, instant messaging, VOIP
61% General browsing/surfing
75% Research and information
35% Blogs and online communities
64% Banking and finance
28% Buying/selling/shopping
26% Interactive – enter competitions/register on website

The internet has clearly become a significant part of the everyday lives of Australians and while at this stage there has been no overt support for a three strikes policy one wonders sometimes if these politicians read their own research. The Greens have indicated a willingness to review the Copyright Act and the Australian Attorney General has also noted the need for reform. As the Australian Copyright Council reported in October of this year:

Under the heading “Cleaning Up Copyright”, the arts policy released by the Greens just prior to the recent election stated: “Our copyright system is struggling to keep pace with the times. A system that is meant to be about nurturing creativity by rewarding it is at risk of stifling such creativity in complexity. At the same time we need to recognise that copyright protects the intellectual property of an artist and provides an important income stream. We need a copyright structure which rewards creators while respecting fair use and avoiding administrative complexities. “There may be no need for wholesale change but it will certainly require political engagement for any kind of reform to take place.”

Lets hope that when it does come time for considering alternatives to the current system that the major parties do not head the same road as New Zealand and France with a three strikes scheme. Much of, what is now, everyday activities for Australians could be at risk if they take the short sighted path of a graduated response scheme. Reform is absolutely needed its just a matter of which direction they intend to take.

Further Reading
Australian Communications and Media Authority, Australia in the digital economy: the shift to the online environment (November 2010) <http://www.apo.org.au/research/australia-digital-economy-shift-online-environment> at 1 December 2010

Australian Copyright Council, The Attorney General and the greens put copyright reform on the agenda <http://www.copyright.org.au/news-and-policy/details/id/1832/> (29 October 2010) at 1 December 2010

ACMA where its at...

A new report was recently released by the Australian Communications and Media Authority in which statistics are presented relating to the use of the internet by Australian citizens. Interesting results as at June 2010 include the following:

• 77% of Australians have an internet connection at home [pg6]
  
• 66% of Australian home internet connections are for broadband [pg6]
• the total number of broadband subscriptions is 8,768,000 [pg8]
• the total number of internet subscribers is 9,569,000 [pg8]
• 55% of users are online for an hour or more per day on average [pg12]
• 28% of users are online for 15 hours or more per week [pg12]
• 48% of people over the age of 14 yrs use the internet for entertainment or amusement [pg15]
  
• the use of the internet for entertainment or amusement includes 82% of 14 - 17 yr olds; 70% of 18-24 yr olds; 58% of 25-34 yr olds; 45% of 35-44 yr olds; 35% of 45 -54 yr olds; 32% of 55-64 yr olds; and 28% of those aged 65 and over. [pg16]
  
• for entertainment or amusement purposes: 41% played games; 39% downloaded music; 36% streamed videos; 23% downloaded video clips; 18% downloaded pictures; 17% downloaded games; and a further 13% uploaded photos to photo sharing websites [pg19]

This presents an interesting perspective of the use of the internet in Australia at the moment. With over eight million broadband connections an alternative compensation scheme for music sharing of just $5 per month would result in revenue to artists of $526,080,000 per year.

Further Reading
Australian Communications and Media Authority, Australia in the digital economy: the shift to the online environment (November 2010) <http://www.apo.org.au/research/australia-digital-economy-shift-online-environment> at 1 December 2010