SPRACI - Remember, Don't Get Burnt!! Copyright Laws in Australia are Tuff so dont get CAUGHT

The Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) has set up Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) as a policing body to target music copyright infringements Australia wide.

Michael Speck, General Manager of MIPI says, "Our surveillance programs run 7x days a week and investigators work a 24x hour roster period. This means we get to cover a lot of ground. We average an arrest every two weeks. By way of example, we currently have over 134 DJs, Jukebox operators and venues (and their operators) in the process of being prosecuted civilly. A further 50 or more Dj's are awaiting criminal prosecution from all over Australia. Over 250 notices have been served in the past year for MP3 piracy alone."

"Apart from issuing fines, prosecutors can confiscate all the equipment involved (eg: CD Players, Amps, Speakers, Whole Computers etc) for destruction. Even if you are lucky enough to convince a court that you should get some equipment back, you can be sure that it will have been seized for so long that it is out of fashion or superseded!"

"At any given time, MIPI is able to identify current or emerging trends in infringing behaviour. This is one of the things that make us so successful. At present there is a real problem with operators and venues using hard drives to play illegally copied music and, no matter which way you view it, this is illegal. Over the years, our investigators have heard every conceivable excuse for this form of piracy."

"Yes, using hard drives to play copied music without the authorisation of the copyright owner is piracy, no matter what your explanation. The sheer size of the problem here has resulted in MIPI adopting newer approaches to piracy."

"We recently undertook undercover sting operations targeting Dj's, Clubs, Venues and some jukebox operators in Melbourne and Perth, we will be taking the operation on the road again real soon. So put simply, you will never know if your customer is just that, or the anti-piracy investigation unit coming for you."

In closing Michael Speck says, "Copyright is what gives us all our business or work. Without it you don't have the 'music business'. So if you know of someone ripping off music let us know! Our email address is , We hope to hear from you real soon!"

So there you have it, if you have copied music onto hard drive without permission, sooner or later you will be caught and fined... It would seem that there might just be a few folk out there in for the odd sleepless night!

Dj's to pay damages for copyright breaches

Two Sydney Dj's and a record company have been ordered to pay at least $500,000 in damages for illegally using songs on compilation CD's. In 2002, Dj Christopher Fraser Smith, also known as Criss Kross, put out several dance compilation CD's through his company Tower Records. But the Federal Court has found he and the DJ who mixed the CDs, Peter Ferris or peeweeferris, knew they did not have copyright clearance for a number of the tracks. Smith and Tower Records has been ordered to pay $450,000 and Ferris has been ordered to pay $50,000 in damages to several Record Companies. Justice Jacobson found that threatening text messages was sent by Smith to different people who would not grant copyright, called for a very large penalty. The amount of damages to be paid for the actual sale of the CDs is yet to be calculated.

Coutesy of ABC News -- www.abc.net.au/news

Music Groups Back
CD Burning For Personal Use Only

Music industry groups have called for a standard CD levy to be imposed so consumers can continue to copy music for their personal use only.

The Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), the Australian Music Publishers Association and Screenrights have expressed the view after a survey by Immedia of about 200 musicians and songwriters earlier in the week. More than 80 per cent of those surveyed thought copying CDs for personal use should not be illegal.

The music bodies have backed a change to the Copyright Act to allow personal copying of purchased CDs but not borrowed or downloaded music. Screenrights chief executive Simon Lake says even the Australian Consumers Association is interested in investigating the idea of a levy.
"What the Australian Consumers Association are concerned about is the possibility of Australian consumers being locked out of copying by technological means," he said.

"What we really want to do is get some sort of forum to be able to discuss this and what we are looking for is leadership from the Government to drive this debate."

APRA chief executive Brett Cottle says a CD levy makes sense.

"Even music industry professionals recognise there is a need to extend private copying rights," Mr Cottle said in a statement.

"It's time to do away with the fiction that private copying is unlawful and doesn't occur, and to support the payment of a built-in royalty through a blank CD levy."

Mr Lake added: "Most Australians would be shocked to know, using your VCR to record Tv programs is also illegal."

"How can the law be so out of practice with the reality of what is happening in virtually every living room in every house in Australia?"

"The Government has to catch up with the reality that the law is out of step and needs to be changed to enable copyright holders to get fair payment and for Australians to be able to copy legally for their home use only."

Coutesy of ABC News -- www.abc.net.au/news

*News* dated 07/07/2007

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