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Bruce Simpson
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Joined: 02 Jan 2005
Posts: 6060
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 Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 9:20 am Post subject: Watch out for the copyright Gestapo (26 May 2008) |
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This column is archived at: http://aardvark.co.nz/daily/2008/0526.shtml
What's going on behind closed doors in respect to this international agreement?
Why is there no consultation?
Why won't anyone comment on the leaked information?
Could it be that you'll soon be taking a huge risk if you choose to travel internationally with an iPod, laptop or even cellphone, should that device have any form of music or video on it?
Are copyright laws getting just a little too draconian these days?
If NZ is a party to the drafting and implementation of the ACTA, should we not be asking our government why we're being treated like mushrooms?
Could *you* prove to a border official that all the music on your device was legally sourced and legit? |
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mad
Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 765
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Bruce Simpson
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Sophocles
Joined: 18 Nov 2006
Posts: 880
Location: Auckland
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| Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 11:02 am Post subject: Copyright tyranny ... |
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It's going to be interesting to see how border controls will and won't work. I use GPL software and nothing that has a proprietary licence. But, it is still all copyrighted work. Much of the other documentation I have is under an open commons licence. The licence files and licence information are mostly, but not always included. How are they going to be recognised? Shoot first and check later?
Given that a standard Linux system and its documentation can contain between 250,000 and 500,000 files (not including directories - count taken from the machine I'm writing this on by find / -type f | wc -l ), I estimate that border control would need a significant amount of time to check the lineage and legitimacy of each of those files.
On each machine passing through? Can you imagine the amount of time that would take? I can imagine Steve Ballmer's reaction to having to wait (days) for the hard drive of his iMac (yep: his "portable presentation machine" is an iMac ... probably running OS X  ) to be examined for skin and melodic tones. Not a chair in sight would be safe.
Given also the detailed accuracy of the output of the Fakes industry, how is the average Joe or Josephine going to be able to tell that those DVDs/CDs they purchased in Romania are really pirated DVDs/CDs? How is the border control going to be able to tell? Shoot first and figure it out later?
It's just not practical by any means. |
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Bruce Simpson
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| Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 11:09 am Post subject: Re: Copyright tyranny ... |
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| Sophocles wrote: | | It's just not practical by any means. |
When has that ever been an impediment to efforts of bureaucracy? |
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Ian O
Joined: 07 Mar 2005
Posts: 1015
Location: Christchurch
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| Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 10:53 pm Post subject: Re: Watch out for the copyright Gestapo (26 May 2008) |
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For a start, any international travellers had better transfer any music on their laptops to easily hidden flashdrives or better still, SD cards to conceal in their digicam. Until the gestapo realise that pictures could be copyrighted and demand to inspect your camera.
Tough about iPods & MP3 players, they're automatically doomed, but what about iPhones and the other cellphones that can be loaded with music or videos? It would be a major problem to have your phone confiscated at the border somewhere. 
And if customs officials are OKed to search your gear for copyright contraband (in their opinion) how long before parking wardens are empowered to ask about a passerby's white earphone leads or a radar cop figures he can meet his quota by checking your CD collection in the car for duplicates or (gasp!) MP3 disks? 
Such apprehensions may be deemed over-the-top, but it's hard to find any law, however stupid, that has never been invoked. If I step back from this, I suspect it will lead to an inexorable boycott of copyrighted material. It will be too dangerous to have it in your possession. Even if you carry your entire CD collection to back up your iPod's content's bona fides, how do you prove they're not bootlegged? |
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paulw
Joined: 05 Jan 2005
Posts: 1136
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| Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 1:36 pm Post subject: Re: Watch out for the copyright Gestapo (26 May 2008) |
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| Ian O wrote: |
For a start, any international travellers had better transfer any music on their laptops to easily hidden flashdrives or better still, SD cards to conceal in their digicam. Until the gestapo realise that pictures could be copyrighted and demand to inspect your camera.
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Yep. You may have taken a foto in the car park at Florida's Disney World and may have infringed on the IP (they don't allow fotos in their Florida carpark) so you will be hawled off to serve 10 years jail time.. In the US these days it appears that IP / copyrite infringment is far worst that roberies and the like. The entertainment industry is currently trying to get the US Gov to make IP and copyrite theft a federal crime rather than a civil crime as at present.. |
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mad
Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 765
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| Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 9:31 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | NZ To Join Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement Negotiations
Press Release by New Zealand Government at 4:48 pm, 28 May 2008
New Zealand will participate in developing a multi-lateral agreement with
the aim of combating the growing global trade in counterfeit goods and
pirated products, Associate Commerce Minister Judith Tizard announced today.
"International enforcement of intellectual property rights is important to
New Zealand's trade interests which suffer losses through counterfeiting and
piracy. We look forward to working towards combating this serious global
problem," she said.
The new Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) will be developed with a
number of New Zealand's key trading partners.
"Improved enforcement of intellectual property rights will benefit both
businesses and consumers. Counterfeiters and pirates not only steal income
from our businesses and artists, they also jeopardise the health and safety
of New Zealand consumers by selling shoddy goods," Judith Tizard said
The agreement is intended to establish a common standard of enforcement of
intellectual property regulations among nations committed to
anti-counterfeiting.
The decision to participate in the development of the ACTA reinforces this
government's intention to strengthen the existing enforcement measures in
the Copyright Act 1994 and the Trade Marks Act 2002.
A decision will be taken on whether to sign the treaty when it is finalised.
Meanwhile the Minister is calling for public submissions on the agreement.
"I would like to encourage the public to identify specific matters that
should be the focus of the agreement for New Zealand."
Further information can be found on the following link and submissions can
be sent to: trademarks@med.govt.nz.
The closing date for submissions is Monday, 14 July 2008.
ENDS
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This was published on the government's website last night, Typically the link was missing, |
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