Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill now law but how effective is it?

The New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc.) is pleased that Section 122 of the Copyright Act 1994 has finally been passed through parliament after an extensive submissions process. With the fast development of technology and the growth in digital publishing, the Society commends the steps taken by our government to move closer towards safeguarding our writers’ rights but still has some concerns over the effectiveness of the Bill.

”Rightsholders need to supply evidence of infringement to the ISPs before the process can begin” explains Maggie Tarver, CEO of The New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc.) “This is done with the provision of evidence packs which are readily available. However without an international agreement similar to that set up by the music industry, the provision of these packs is cost prohibitive rendering the Bill useless to our members.“

Copyright expert and President of the Society, Tony Simpson, comments “The protection of our writers’ rights is an essential part of the ongoing development of New Zealand literature and culture. If we cannot ensure that our writers continue to be adequately compensated for the illegal downloading of their work then the future of New Zealand publishing is at risk”.

The Society is continuing to work with its industry partners to find a way of ensuring writers are not disadvantaged. “We have explored possibilities of developing an international deal to obtain cost-effective evidence packs” Tony continues “but have not been able to secure anything to date. It is clear that the Bill is tailored more towards the music and film industries, and it is our responsibility at the Society to ensure that authors are given equal and fair opportunities through this Bill”.

Maggie adds “Another concern is the exclusion of mobile devices until 2013 which puts at risk our local authors and musicians whose work can and is being easily downloaded onto devices such as iPhones. We continue to urge the government to include mobile devices immediately under this Bill”.