More consultations – copyright edition

The Copyright Regulations 1969 and the Copyright (Tribunal Procedure) Regulations 1969 are due to “sunset” – by which they mean “expire” – on 1 April 2018.

The Department of Communications and the Arts, therefore, has released exposure draft regulations for the Copyright Regulations 20171 (pdf) and the Copyright Legislation Amendment (Technological Protection Measures) Regulations 2017 (pdf) for consideration and comment. Fortunately, there is also a 47 page consultation paper (pdf) which identifies various ways in which the new regulations are proposed to differ from the old Regulation through 13 questions.2

Submissions are required by 6 October 2017.

Some of the new matters addressed include

  • prescribed requirements for industry codes under the carriage service provider safe harbours;
  • a number of new prescribed acts where it will be permissible to circumvent technological protection measures:
    • for use of copyright material by a student enrolled in a course of study in an educational institution solely for the purpose of and in circumstances set out in sections 40, 41, 41A, 103A, 103AA or 103C of the Act provided that the use was solely for the purposes of a student complying with the requirements of the course of instruction
    • for use of copyright material by a person who carries out research for an educational institution solely for the purpose of and in circumstances set out in sections 40, 41, 41A, 103A, 103AA or 103C of the Act provided that the use was solely for the purposes of a person carrying out his or her research duties for an educational institution
    • for use of copyright material for educational purposes by or on behalf of a body administering an educational institution, acting under section 200AB of the Act
    • use of copyright material by or on behalf of a person with a disability under Division 2, Part IVA of the Act
    • use by libraries, archives and Key Cultural Institutions (as prescribed in the Copyright Regulations), under Division 3 of Part IVA of the Act
    • use in relation to access by or for persons with a disability (under Division 2 of Part IVA of the Act)
    • for use of copyright material for educational purposes undertaken under the statutory licence under Division 4 of Part IVA of the Act
  • as is the case now, there are provisions for all sorts of notices and even new questions about how they should be published.

At the grumpy old man level:

Why does reg. 12 dealing with “industrially applied” refer to 50 “articles” when section 77 refers to “products”?

Also, in a move designed to cause confusion or which fails to appreciate the difference between a section in an Act and a provision3 in a regulation, we apparently now must refer to provisions in regulations as “sections”. That should make it much easier for everyone!

There is also a Review of the Code of Conduct for Copyright Collecting Societies. If that one keeps you awake at night, you need to get you submissions in by 29 September 2017

  1. The Tribunal Procedure regulations will be rolled into the general Copyright Regulations. ??
  2. At 96 pages in length, I am certainly not to be taken to be guaranteeing those matters are the only new matters or changes. ??
  3. Formerly known as a “regulation”. ??

 

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