With Amendment 92a dead and buried, New Zealand's government looks even further ahead to a whole new look at Copyright.
We've covered New Zealand's contentious ammendment to its 1994 Copyright Act, Amendment 92a, a couple of times now from its inception to its eventual demise, and it looks as though the new Kiwi goverment has finally seen the light.
As reported in the National Business Review, the 1994 version of the Act will now be frozen, with an eye to producing a complete rewrite of New Zealand copyright law.
This is just the latest move from New Zealand's politicians and lawmakers, but it is certainly the most well-recieved. Simon Power, Commerce and Justice Minister (what an interesting portfolio that must be!) and PM John Key have both said that they will seek industry assistance in constructing a new Act that addresses the modern media environment.
Ars Technica has an excellent piece on what the new Act needs to address. In short, fair use, DRM, safe harbour, copyrigh extensions and format & time shifting are the key areas that need to be covered by any fresh approach to copyright law.
Damn straight.
Issue: 133 | February, 2012