A FEDERAL Government report of digital copyright laws has produced recommendations for new minimum standards for Internet service providers.
The Digital Agenda review was carried out by law firm Phillips Fox and examines reforms to the Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000, which were introduced in 2001.
The reforms were designed to update Australia’s copyright regulations and take into account the rapid development of new technologies.
The report, which was produced in consultation with stakeholders, says new legal procedures are needed in order to deal with issues of copyright piracy and ISP liability, particularly in light of the uncertainty created by clauses of the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement.
The report calls for “a simple and effective procedure by which parties can quickly and effectively deal with allegations of infringing material”.
In a statement, Attorney General Phillip Ruddock said the report’s findings would assist in implementing Australia’s FTA obligations, despite parts of the report being superseded by clauses in the FTA.
