| Wednesday, August 4, 2004 |
17:20 - Listening to music upside-down
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Sounds like Australia may need to revise its copyright laws to better match the way the rest of the world does it:
More than 100,000 Australians listen to music on such digital music players. Retailers cannot stock them fast enough. There is just one problem.
Most people know it is illegal to download songs from the internet without paying. But far fewer people know it is illegal to copy music from a CD you have legally bought.
Anyone who has copied songs from a CD onto an iPod or computer hard drive has fallen foul of Australian copyright laws, which critics argue are failing to keep pace with technological change. Copying music for personal use is generally OK in the US and Europe. But not in Australia.
"It's unlikely that the Australian Federal Police would investigate individuals for offences such as illegally copying a CD," a police spokeswoman said. "However all cases referred to the AFP are categorised and investigated as necessary."
Unlike its rivals, Apple does not allow legitimate music websites such as Telstra and Ninemsn to sell digital songs for the iPod. Because Apple does not allow Australian customers to buy songs from its US iTunes website - and there is no local site - there is not much you can do legally with an Apple iPod in Australia.
"You could possibly use it to listen to music that you've recorded yourself or even to a recording made by your friend's band," says a copyright expert, Kim Weatherall, of Melbourne University's law school. "But that's about it."
Copying music from CD to iPod under the "fair use" clauses of applicable law is the keystone of the entire iTunes philosophy, at least the part that involves playing well with CDs as we gradually transition to digital downloads as our primary means of buying music. I hadn't known that Australia didn't have this kind of language in its copyright rules, or that they're evidently still so adamant about keeping things the way they are. (Or perhaps it's just the Australian record industry that's so reluctant to change.) But regardless, it certainly seems like a great way to alienate consumers and stifle adoption of new technologies; and I'm not just talking about music, either. What about making backup copies of software? What about copying DVDs to VHS for personal use? Are those illegal too?
And let's not even get into the inevitable wrangle over how many computers will be allowed to be authorized for a given AAC signature once the iTunes store does open there...
UPDATE: James A. points me at the blog of Anthony Towns, former release manager for Debian, who has been following developments in Australian fair-use and IP law recently. Good stuff if you're into that sort of thing.
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Brian Tiemann
