Copyright Issues for Individuals and Businesses

Week 6

“People should be able to download music and films in Australia from the internet without paying for them” (Do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer, with reference to the Copyright Act 1968 (CTH).)”

Since discussing the Copyright Act 1968 (CTH) (the Act), I have been examining if people should be able to download music and movies for free in Australia. I know many people who have downloaded copyrighted music and movies for free and I myself have downloaded videos from YouTube for assignments. Additionally I’ve discovered that in Australia one-third of internet users have admitted to downloading copyrighted music (MIPI, 2011). Therefore, I believe that individuals would benefit from downloading music and movies for free, however there are legal and economic complications involved.

Firstly downloading music and movies for free would infringe copyright created by the Act. A summary of copyright for music and movies can be found here. Since discussing with friends the implications of the Act, many said they felt guilty knowing the Act prohibited downloading. However some exceptions apply for downloading copyrighted material for a specific purpose. After reviewing these exceptions I’ve discovered that songs downloaded for the purpose of my poetry research in high school would not infringe copyright under Section 40 of the Act.

Secondly by downloading music and movies for free it affects the profitability of the music and film industries. According to Moses (2011) film infringement costs the Australian economy $1.37 billion a year. Meanwhile the music industry has been declining due to music infringements (Jackson, 2011). In the digital age, awareness must be created around IP as technology increases the possibilities of infringement. For example, several years ago people were using Limewire to illegally download music and movies. In the case of businesses which use or own copyrighted material, appropriate action must be taken to protect against copyright infringement.

Reference List:

Copyright Act 1968 (CTH) Retrieved from: http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2012C00265

Jackson, S. (2011, September 12). No cure for piracy since the day the music started dying. The Australian. Retrieved from: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/no-cure-for-piracy-since-the-day-the-music-started-dying/story-e6frg996-1226134295512

 

MIPI. (2011). Internet piracy. Retrieved from: http://www.mipi.com.au/About-Piracy/What-is-music-piracy/

Moses, A. (2011, June 6). Music and film industries split over pirates. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/music-and-film-industries-split-over-pirates-20110606-1fo8q.html