Archive
Category: Weblog
Random assortments, selected for semantic content.
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Kookaburra sits in the old gum treeee, merrily infringing
With all the fuss over the iiNet decision today, it might be easy to overlook another interesting copyright judgment that was handed down just a few metres away. In Larrikin Music Publishing Pty Ltd v EMI Songs Australia Pty Ltd [2010] FCA 29, the owner of copyright in the children’s song ‘Kookaburra Sits in the… Read more →
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iiNet wins: Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Ltd [2010] FCA 24
Justice Cowdroy of the Federal Court of Australia has just handed down judgment in Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Ltd [2010] FCA 24 (iiNet Case), finding in favour of the respondent. As you’re probably aware, the iiNet Case centres on allegations of copyright infringement in connection with unauthorised downloads of films by iiNet’s subscribers… Read more →
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Secret talks for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement continue
Some interesting comments from Michael Geist concerning the now-infamous Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which is being negotiated in secret by representatives of most developed countries. This piece considers the extent to which states party to ACTA would be required to amend their domestic laws: most [representatives] have sought to dampen fears by implausibly claiming that… Read more →
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Australian government to filter refused classification internet content
Incredibly, despite widespread public opposition, reasoned technical and policy arguments, and international condemnation by the Electronic Frontiers Foundation and others, the Australian government looks set to proceed with its misguided plan to censor prohibited internet content. In December, the government released details of how the censorship (euphemism of choice: ‘filtering’) scheme will work. It’s not… Read more →
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IIA to educate ISPs on copyright liability after iiNet case
The Australian Internet Industry Association (IIA) has invited internet service providers to attend a briefing on their copyright liability following the conclusion of oral argument in the Village Roadshow v iiNet case — judgment in which is expected early next year. The briefing is designed to answer an interim question raised by the iiNet litigation:… Read more →
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Australian government ponders R18+ games classification
It seems that the Australian government is finally considering the introduction of a restricted classification (R18+) for computer games. Last week, the Attorney–General’s department released a discussion paper calling for submissions on whether the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 (Cth) (Act) should be amended to permit the Office of Film and Literature… Read more →
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Syntactic autocracy and the judicial practice note
These somewhat didactic — but on the whole reasonable — ‘order preparation guidelines’ were recently issued by Judge Robert Kressel of the United States District Court to solicitors responsible for preparing draft orders in bankruptcy proceedings. Given the ardency with which most lawyers defend their grammatical and syntactic convictions, the controversy sparked by the practice… Read more →
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Two views of the internet age
An inspiring, if somewhat zealously expressed, thought for the day from Wired magazine’s Kevin Kelly: Three thousand years from now, when keen minds review the past, I believe that our ancient time, here at the cusp of the third millennium, will be seen as another such era. In the years roughly coincidental with the Netscape… Read more →
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More hyperbolic warnings of Chinese ‘cyber spies’
A report produced by the US–China Economic and Security Review Commission suggests that malicious attacks on United States military computer systems increased by 20 per cent in 2008, a figure that is projected to grow by 60 per cent in 2009. Experts attributed much of the increase to attacks originating in China: “A large body… Read more →
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Australian travel agent sues Irish web developer for breach of contract
Australian travel franchise Flight Centre has commenced proceedings against Datalex, an Irish web developer, alleging breach of contract and misleading or deceptive conduct. It’s a pretty standard commercial dispute, with a slight twist: a non-existent product. The facts run something like this: developer promises to deliver customised Fancy New Booking System by a certain date,… Read more →