Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill 2010
Thursday 22 April 2010
Rahui Katene, MP for Te Tai Tonga

There’s something about the three strikes approach which this Government can’t seem to get enough of. In this Bill the three strikes rule is applied to deter illegal file sharing.

In the Maori Party all of us have children or mokopuna in our lives who would think nothing of sharing of music, video and game files over computer networks such as the internet.

Whereas in my day, we might have borrowed cassettes off our mates, today’s kids are accessing the latest hits online.

The amendment we are voting on today, puts in place a fair and balanced process to deal with online copyright infringements which are occurring via the process of file sharing.

The process is described as fair precisely because of this three strikes rule. The three notice process is to give sufficient warning to file sharings that unauthorised sharing of copyright works is illegal.

But the Bill doesn’t just restrict itself to warnings. It also puts in place, like we have been seeing more and more of with the standard Government approach, an almost predictable series of sanctions and punishments.

The Copyright Tribunal, will have an extended jurisdiction to enable it to hear complaints and award penalties of up to $15,000 - the amount based on the amount of damage sustained by the copyright owner.

The Bill also enables copyright owners to seek the suspension of internet accounts through the District Court for up to six months.

Lest I give the impression of unreasonableness, I hasten to suggest there is some leniency around timeframes.

In essence account holders will have an opportunity to address illegal file sharing activity occurring on their internet connection before enforcement action is taken.

The timing is also extended to challenge notices and may request hearings at the Copyright Tribunal to contest infringement claims.

Mr Speaker, we believe this Bill will be welcomed by the music industry as a weapon in the battle against online piracy.

There are huge issues associated with the lack of intellectual property rights, not to mental the significant declines in revenue that the copyright owner would be entitled to otherwise.

The extent of downloading by individuals is so severe that copyright owners claim that it is having a substantial economic impact on their businesses.

The interesting thing for the Maori Party will be to see how the range of measures introduced in this Bill will be received. It is, of course, well known that the previous consultation around section 92a of the Act was widely condemned.

Among the criticisms the former bill had included no process allowing challenged internet users to rebut a copyright owner's allegations. Under the new law, file downloaders who feel they have been wrongly penalised will be able to take their case to the Copyright Tribunal, for free.

Mr Speaker, at the end of the day, the real key to the success of this Bill will be in the way in which it is received by the people. We are told that the Bill is the result of extensive consultation with stakeholders. Time will tell whether that consultation has produced the positive results sought.

To this end, we will support this Bill at the first reading to enable the korero to be heard.

ENDS

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