Artists and politicians rally behind copyright
November 9, 2016
Australia’s leading musicians and music industry professionals have written an open letter to the Government asking for proposed expansions of the “safe harbour” scheme be dropped, saying it would “chip away” at their “right to be remunerated fairly for their creative endeavours”.
Among the signatories are Delta Goodrem, Guy Sebastian, Jessica Mauboy, John Farnham, Cold Chisel, INXS, Birds of Tokyo and Human Nature. They want to prevent the Federal Government from expanding the provision in copyright legislation which would shield profit-making enterprises such as Facebook and YouTube from potential copyright infringement. Read the Letter to the Government or read more in The Daily Telegraph.
On 25 October, the Opposition spokesman for Tourism, Anthony Albanese wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald that proposed changes to Australia’s territorial copyright restrictions did not stack up, saying: “The arrangements protect the Australian book publishing industry. They ensure Australian authors can make a decent living and continue to bring Australian stories to the world of literature, both here and globally.”
The Productivity Commission delivered its report on Australia’s Intellectual Property Arrangements to the Government on 23 September. The Government has 25 sitting days to table the report in Parliament.
Guy Sebastian is one of many musicians opposed to changes to “safe harbour” copyright provisions. Photo: Mclean Stephenson.