[Ecommerce] FTA US-Australia Draft is out (and long)

[Manon Ress]

US-Australia FTA: IP provisions (29 pages):
http://www.ustr.gov/new/fta/Australia/text/text17.pdf

The term of copyright protection in Australia will be extended from the
life of the author plus 50 years to life of the author plus 70 years.
Also, it looks as if Australia has to  adopt the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act.  However,  as was pointed out by Dr. Rimmer "Australia
has not accepted the higher standard of originality or the open-ended
fair use defence of the United States. As a result, Australia will
arguably have even higher standards of copyright protection than the
United States"   See.
http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/ecommerce/2004q1/001184.html
Libraries and teachers are worried but Hollywood has been praising the
agreement:
 http://www.caltradereport.com/eWebPages/front-page-1075089993.html
SNIP
"Hollywood studios are pushing for the pact, hoping for greater access
and stronger intellectual property protections. Australia, like many
countries, has local content quotas for television programming.
Entertainment companies want Australia to agree not to impose rules that
would restrict future opportunities, particularly in new media.
Australia is America's eighth-largest market for filmed entertainment.

"We would like to see in the trade agreement a way to ensure that
content can flow freely and consumers can access it in both markets
without artificial barriers," said Rick Lane, Washington-based vice
president of government affairs for News Corp., controlled by Australian
magnate Rupert Murdoch. News Corp.'s US interests include 20th Century
Fox , the Fox News cable channel and DirecTV, the nation's leading
satellite television provider.

The globalization of the entertainment industry makes it difficult to
separate out interests along national boundaries. The proposed trade
pact has attracted the ire of some Australian entertainers, including
actor Geoffrey Rush, star of the award-winning movie "Shine." He has
accused the United States of cultural imperialism, contending that the
agreement would threaten government programs intended to nurture and
protect Australia's homegrown talent.

But Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, said
the entertainment industry in both countries would benefit from a pact
that was being touted as a template for similar pacts elsewhere in the
world.

"Australia is one of the greatest talent-producing and movie-producing
countries in the world," he said. "Their views and our views ought to be
consistent."


--
Manon Anne Ress
Consumer Project on Technology
www.cptech.org
PO Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
manon.ress@cptech.org, voice: 1.202.387.8030, fax: 1.202.234.5176