With the Australian Government’s Intellectual Property Review Agency (IPRA) due to publish its draft legal framework for the internet and social media, some are wondering what kind of rights the Australian public has.
The Government’s draft Intellectual Property Guidelines will outline how the Government will regulate online platforms like social media and the internet in Australia.
In a nutshell, the guidelines say the Government should:Give the Government the power to take action against infringements of intellectual property rights on the internet.
Give the Australian people the power of legal action to enforce the rights of others to use, reproduce, adapt, display and distribute content protected by copyright or trademark.
Provide the Australian Community with a legal right to control and enforce the internet content of its members.
The new guidelines also set out how the Federal Government can protect intellectual property from the actions of third parties.
The guidelines say a court may be able to order a person who infringes intellectual property to pay damages to a third party or to pay the owner of copyright or trademarks for copyright or any other intellectual property right that is infringed.
What the rules mean for AustraliansThe guidelines set out the framework for how the Australian government will regulate the internet, and include the right for Australians to have an effective legal remedy against copyright infringement and counterfeiting.
The Federal Government’s new guidelines will also provide that the rights granted by copyright law to the Australian community can be used by third parties to monitor online activity.
What does the guidelines mean for Australian citizensThe guidelines state the Federal government will have the power under the Copyright Act to:Ensure that third parties have a right to monitor and investigate activity on an Australian-owned or controlled site.
Give third parties a right of access to the internet by giving them access to all of the content on the site.
Grant rights to a site owner to monitor activity on the Australian-controlled site.
This would mean that the Federal Minister of the day could give third parties the power, as outlined in the draft guidelines, to monitor content on any Australian-run or controlled internet site.
What’s the impact on Australians?
The draft guidelines will give the Australian Communities a legal and economic right to enforce copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret rights on Australian owned or controlled websites and online services.
These rights are already in place under the Australian Corporations Act.
What can we do to protect our rights?
While the guidelines will be used to regulate the use of social media platforms, the Government’s guidelines also outline the scope for online content to be regulated.
The draft Guidelines give the Federal Parliament the power “to provide for the enforcement of rights under copyright law or any similar right” in relation to online content, according to the Government.
They also say the Federal Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intellectual Property will examine the potential impact of the proposed new laws on the rights in the digital economy.
Topics:internet-technology,internet-culture,government-and-politics,government—state-issues,government,internet,technology,law-crime-and-(chief-of-lies)—state,australiaFirst posted February 09, 2019 12:34:42Contact Greg Faull
