New legislation's been unveiled in Parliament to crack down on illegal file sharing, including music, videos and games. The bill allows three warnings to be given and enables copyright holders to seek up to $15,000 compensation through the Copyright Tribunal. They can also seek the suspension of internet accounts via the courts for up to six months. I can see a few hiccups in the proposed legislation, for example:
+ Suspending people's internet accounts: surely if that happened, users would simply start a new account at another ISP?
+ Clarification about which sites actually constitute illegal file sharing: is a global site offering free movie downloads illegal because users have not personally paid a copyright fee?
+ Target: is this legislation aimed at those who download/reproduce for commercial gain, or will Little Jimmy down the road get burnt for sharing his Green Day favourites with his classmates?
Public consultation over the next month or so may spot a few other glitches so watch this space...
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