Toner News Mobile › Forums › Toner News Main Forums › U.S. TRADE DEAL EXPORTS DMCA DOWN UNDER
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<H3><FONT color=blue size=3>Trade deal exports DMCA down under </FONT><a target=”_blank” href= “http://news.com.com/2102-1028_3-5291283.html?tag=st.util.print”></A><FONT color=blue size=3> </FONT><a target=”_blank” href= “http://news.com.com/2113-1028_3-5291283.html?tag=st.util.email”></A><FONT color=blue size=3> </FONT><a target=”_blank” href= “http://news.com.com/Trade+deal+exports+DMCA+down+under/2100-1028_3-5291283.html?tag=nefd.top.#yourtake”></A><FONT color=blue size=3> </FONT><A onclick=”addMyStory(‘5291283′,’/2100-1028_3-5291283.html?tag=save’,’Trade deal exports DMCA down under’)” href= “javascript void0”></A><FONT color=blue size=3> </FONT></H3></DIV>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT color=blue><B>Australia will be required to adopt U.S. intellectual-property rules, including laws covering the “circumvention” of copy protection, and software patents that have alarmed advocates of open-source software, according to a trade agreement that President Bush signed on Tuesday.</B> </FONT></FONT>
<P><FONT color=blue size=3>Bush and Australian Prime Minister </FONT><a target=”_blank” href= “http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pm.gov.au&siteId=3&oId=2100-1028-5291283&ontId=1023&lop=nl_ex”> John Howard</A><FONT color=blue size=3> touted the agreement at a ceremony in the White House’s Rose Garden, saying it will eliminate many tariffs on manufactured goods and agricultural products between the two countries, which exchange $28 billion each year in goods and services. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=blue size=3>A </FONT><a target=”_blank” href= “http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dfat.gov.au%2Ftrade%2Fnegotiations%2Fus_fta%2Ffinal-text%2Fchapter_17.html&siteId=3&oId=2100-1028-5291283&ontId=1023&lop=nl_ex”> less-noticed section of the free-trade agreement</A><FONT color=blue size=3> deals with copyright. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=blue size=3>”The agreement strengthens protections for intellectual property and promotes electronic commerce,” Bush said, before signing a </FONT><a target=”_blank” href= “http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fthomas.loc.gov%2Fcgi-bin%2Fbdquery%2Fz%3Fd108%3Ah.r.04759%3A&siteId=3&oId=2100-1028-5291283&ontId=1023&lop=nl_ex”> bill committing the United States</A><FONT color=blue size=3> to the arrangement. “Our two nations are committed to the reduction of trade barriers and other restrictions that are keeping too much of the world from the kind of prosperity and opportunity that the developed world takes for granted.” </FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=blue size=3>The agreement requires Australia to recognize software patents, to extend the duration of copyrighted works and to essentially adopt key portions of the </FONT><a target=”_blank” href= “http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fthomas.loc.gov%2Fcgi-bin%2Fquery%2Fz%3Fc105%3AH.R.2281.ENR%3A&siteId=3&oId=2100-1028-5291283&ontId=1023&lop=nl_ex”> Digital Millennium Copyright Act</A><FONT color=blue size=3>. That 1998 law has been attacked by computer scientists and open-source programmers in the United States as stifling innovation and outlawing legitimate activities like making a back-up copy of a legally purchased DVD. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=blue size=3>Australia will be required to enact laws punishing anyone who “circumvents without authority any effective technological measure that controls access” to copyrighted work or who distributes hardware or software that is designed for circumvention or is marketed that way. As in the DMCA, some limited exceptions permit such activity by authorized researchers and government employees for “the sole purpose of preventing the access of minors to inappropriate online content.” </FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=blue size=3>One section goes further than existing U.S. law and commits both nations to enacting bans on tinkering with “rights management information.” A </FONT><A title=”Pirate this, go to jail — Monday, Jul 29, 2002″ href= “http://news.com.com/Pirate+this%2C+go+to+jail/2010-1071_3-946732.html?tag=nl”> related bill</A><FONT color=blue size=3> is pending, but </FONT><a target=”_blank” href= “http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fthomas.loc.gov%2Fcgi-bin%2Fbdquery%2Fz%3Fd107%3As.02395%3A&siteId=3&oId=2100-1028-5291283&ontId=1023&lop=nl_ex”> has not been approved</A><FONT color=blue size=3>, in the U.S. Senate. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=blue size=3>Australia has already enacted a related law called the </FONT><a target=”_blank” href= “http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dcita.gov.au%2FArticle%2F0%2C%2C0_1-2_1-4_13287%2C00.html&siteId=3&oId=2100-1028-5291283&ontId=1023&lop=nl_ex”> Digital Agenda Act of 2000</A><FONT color=blue size=3> that is not as sweeping the DMCA and does not permit software patents. Its government is currently </FONT><a target=”_blank” href= “http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ag.gov.au%2Fwww%2FsecuritylawHome.nsf%2FAllDocs%2FRWP18B3985DD6A0767FCA256D9D00815B56%3FOpendocument&siteId=3&oId=2100-1028-5291283&ontId=1023&lop=nl_ex”> conducting a review</A><FONT color=blue size=3> of the law that’s expected to be completed this year. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=blue size=3>Because the free-trade agreement effectively short-circuits that review and commits Australia to extending its copyright and patent laws, the Australian Linux community has </FONT><a target=”_blank” href= “http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.anu.edu.au%2Fpeople%2FRoger.Clarke%2FII%2FFTA17.html&siteId=3&oId=2100-1028-5291283&ontId=1023&lop=nl_ex”> criticized the deal</A><FONT color=blue size=3>. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=blue size=3>It “will limit the ability of Australian software developers, companies and users to benefit from and contribute to the open-source software industry,” Linux Australia says in a </FONT><a target=”_blank” href= “http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.linux.org.au%2Fpapers%2Ffta-paper.html&siteId=3&oId=2100-1028-5291283&ontId=1023&lop=nl_ex”> position paper</A><FONT color=blue size=3>. “Taking on the American system of software patents will stifle open-source software initiatives and force Australian users and businesses into using costly and potentially inferior software, without the ability to alter it to suit their needs.” </FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=blue size=3>The trade agreement has run into trouble in Australia, which has not yet ratified it. Some members of its parliament have threatened to scuttle the deal unless it includes more regulations targeting drug companies, along with Australian TV and radio content.</FONT></P> -
AuthorAugust 19, 2004 at 4:05 PM
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