Jeremy's "Lose Weight" resolution - Oz Not an Example

As promised, Jeremy de Beer has outlined his second New Year's resolution....to lose copyright weight, so to speak.

He points out that Australia now has a 645 page - yes 645 page - long Copyright Act, as a direct result of American pressure to ratify the WIPO treaties in the DMCA mode.

I would point out that Australia, which is home to several brilliant copyright scholars, is, however, possibly the worst example Canada could look at with respect to the results of recent American lobbying influence. Note the recent de-election of John Howard's party and Mr. Howard personally as well. This was not likely over copyright but apparently very likely over Mr. Howard's pro-Bush/war in Iraq stance.

It seems that this is not a time of automatic deference to American foreign policy wishes. And it seems that copyright has made the leap from occasional academic articles and court cases to front page news and the main stream media - page one of the Globe and Mail on Saturday, December 22, 2007.

But lest I forget, while a 645 page or so copyright act may do very little good for creators and very much harm for users and consumers, it would certainly be terrific news for lawyers looking for more work.

HK