Call for copy rights in Australia
Australians should have the right to make personal copies, and payment to music creators and copyright owners should be through a blank CD levy.
So say Brett Cottle, ceo of the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), and Ian James, chairman of the
Australian Music Publishers Association Ltd (AMPAL), commenting on the Music – The Business, Law & Technology report.
"Even music industry professionals recognize there is a need to extend private copying rights," says Cottle. "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."
Simon Lake, chief executive of Screenrights, says, "Most Australians would be shocked to know using your VCR to record programmes is 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."
