[Ecommerce] Story on US/Australia FTA

[Manon Ress]

Thanks to E.M. for pointer

it's about what the software industry wants:

QUOTE:
Specifically, the U.S. software industry objected that the Australian
law appears to hold that unauthorized incidental use of copyrighted
material would not be considered a copyright infringement. The industry
also raised questions about whether reproduction of copyrighted material
will be treated as a criminal offense under the law, sources said. A
third dispute concerns whether individuals who decode encrypted signals
-- such as over cable or the Internet -- for personal use would be
violating the law, according to these sources.
END of QUOTE

Congress Daily October 15, 2004

TRADE
Leaders Seek Assurances About Anti-Piracy Provisions
     Key House leaders on trade issues are warning the White House not
to allow the U.S.-Australia free trade agreement to take effect until
Australia has taken additional steps to ensure that its laws do not
undercut tough anti-piracy protections included in the agreement. "As
advocates for strong intellectual property right standards, we believe
that Australia must assure that it will be in full compliance with the
FTA before the agreement is allowed to enter into force," according to a
draft letter to President Bush being circulated by Ways and Means Trade
Subcommittee Chairman Philip Crane, R-Ill., and Reps. Jennifer Dunn,
R-Wash., and Calvin Dooley, D-Calif. Congress in July approved the
U.S.-Australia trade pact, and both sides had agreed to implement the
agreement by Jan. 1. But that timetable has been thrown into doubt
because of objections raised by U.S. software makers, broadcasters and
pharmaceutical firms to legislation passed by the Australian Parliament
that they claim would undermine anti-piracy protections in the agreement.

    The issue did not attract attention when Congress debated the
Australia pact in July, because Australia had not yet passed its own
version of legislation to implement the deal. When the Australian
Parliament took up the agreement in August, the Labor majority in the
Senate added the controversial provisions on intellectual property over
the objections of Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a conservative
who at the time was battling for re-election. In their draft letter,
House lawmakers said the provisions "will diminish some of the
intellectual property standards and enforcement provisions that were
negotiated in the FTA." Contacts between U.S. and Australian trade
officials have revealed disagreements both over whether the Australian
legislation complies with the trade pact and over what was actually
agreed to in the pact, congressional sources said. Specifically, the
U.S. software industry objected that the Australian law appears to hold
that unauthorized incidental use of copyrighted material would not be
considered a copyright infringement. The industry also raised questions
about whether reproduction of copyrighted material will be treated as a
criminal offense under the law, sources said. A third dispute concerns
whether individuals who decode encrypted signals -- such as over cable
or the Internet -- for personal use would be violating the law,
according to these sources.

    U.S. and Australian officials are working to resolve the dispute.
Both sides must certify the other is in compliance with the terms of the
FTA before it enters into effect, and a U.S. trade official said it is
unclear whether this certification will have to be delayed. The official
noted that the United States did delay that process in previous disputes
with Chile and Singapore. "We believe that they are taking our concerns
seriously and are hopeful that we will resolve our differences," the
U.S. official said. Also unclear is whether Australia will have to pass
additional legislation to resolve the objections raised by the United
States, or whether it can do so via an exchange of letters or side
agreement. Howard, who was elected to another term this month, has
scheduled a parliamentary session for the week of Nov. 16, according to
an Australian embassy spokesman. -- by Martin Vaughan

___________________________________
--
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