Australia To Propose Copyright Reform That Includes Fair Use

Last year, we noted that Australia was beginning the process of copyright reform, and it appeared that the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) was asking the right kinds of questions. Among the major concerns that some commenters raised was the lack of fair use under Australian copyright law. When a similar process took place in the UK, it was decided not to try to add fair use to UK law. The entertainment industry argued, ridiculously, that fair use would lead to too much litigation. Thankfully, it appears that Australia is willing to go that extra step. There was apparently a meeting held yesterday by the Australian Law Reform Commission, in which they revealed some of the proposed reforms, which were to be officially released in a paper at the end of May. We've heard from some people who attended that the information revealed in the meeting was supposed to be kept secret, but it appears that the Australian Law Library Association jumped the gun with some thankfully revealing tweets.The key tweet is the one that reveals the ALRC will be recommending fair use be added Down Under. This is big and excellent news. Of course, now watch closely as the legacy entertainment industry throws a complete hissy fit about how awful fair use will be in Australia. Stay tuned... Permalink | Comments | Email This Story