Video crooks come in from the cold | NEWS.com.au

Video crooks come in from the cold | Top stories | NEWS.com.au

Well, it seems that 2006 will finally bring Australian copyright laws into the 20th Century. Care to try for the 21st?

"The Federal Government will next year legalise the video recording of television shows for personal use, and the transfer of songs from CDs to MP3 players, in a bid to overturn a ban which has made criminals of much of the population.

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has flagged tidying up copyright laws by adding fair-use loopholes that will clear the way for private citizens to copy the content without breaking the law."

"We should have copyright laws that are more targeted at the real problem," Mr Ruddock said.

"We should not treat everyday Australians who want to use technology to enjoy copyright material they have obtained legally as infringers where this does not cause harm to our copyright industries."

"In Canada, where similar laws have been introduced, a fee was levied on blank CD and iPod unit sales to compensate copyright owners with up to an extra $32 being placed on the store price of individual machines.

Mr Ruddock's spokeswoman said a similar system had been discussed for Australia, but was unlikely to be introduced."

Bets are now open as to which company complains first about their intellectual property being sold out by the government. My money's on Sony BMG.

More on this to come, you can count on it.