Australian Government Warned Over Copyright Laws

by Mary Swire, for LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

16 April 2003

The Australian government has been urged to strike a balance between ensuring adequate protections are in place for copyright holders, whilst still fostering innovation and development.

In its draft report, published on Tuesday, the Framework for the Future steering committee, comprising leaders from the ICT industry and the research sector in Australia, suggested that:

'The way in which this debate about the balance of rights evolves and settles will have a significant impact on the use and commercial exploitation of information resources in Australia, which will in turn impact directly on the ICT industry, particularly the content and software industries.'

However, the report went on to observe that:

'Strong intellectual property protection is important to the development of vibrant industries, and is a significant factor in stimulating international investment in (the) content and software industries in Australia.'

The review, entitled 'Enabling Australia's Future' is the outcome of the ICT Framework for the Future process put in place by the government last year, and was launched by Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston.

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