The Australian Copyright Act includes prohibitions against circumvention of, or tampering with, measures to restrict and manage access to, and use of, digital content.
Technological protection measures
Technological protection measures (TPMs) are digital mechanisms that restrict access to, or use of, digital material. They are sometimes referred to as digital locks or DRM (digital rights management).
There are two types of TPM:
- Access control TPMs that prevent a person from being able to read, listen to or watch material (e.g. without a password).
- Copy control TPMs that allow a person to read, listen or watch material but prevent a person from making a copy of the material (e.g. read only, download blocking, print blocking).
The Australian Copyright Act includes prohibitions against circumvention of TPMs, and against manufacture and supply of circumvention devices and technologies. There are some special exceptions that allow circumvention in particular circumstances.
Electronic Rights Management Information
Electronic Rights Management Information is information (or numbers or codes that represent the information) associated with, or embodied in, copyright material that identifies the work and/or copyright owner, and/or contains any terms or conditions imposed on use of the copyright material. It is sometimes referred to a metadata.
The Copyright Act includes prohibitions against removing electronic rights management information (e.g. by stripping metadata from an image when it is uploaded and made available online), and against commercial dealing with copyright material that has had electronic rights information removed.
November 2024
Share Tweet