Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) welcomes the decision by the Attorney-General to include consideration of the doctrine of fair use of copyright material in the final terms of reference for the Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) Review of the Copyright Act in the digital environment.
EFA was one of a number of advocacy groups that sent submissions to the Attorney-General calling for consideration of the doctrine of fair use to be included in the ALRC review.
EFA believes that a wide-ranging and flexible fair use approach to copyright will provide significant benefits to consumers, entrepreneurs and the education sector and will create a balanced and technology-neutral legal framework that will promote innovation and job creation across a range of industries and go a long way towards future-proofing the Copyright Act.
David Cake, EFA Chair, said, “It’s great to see that the Attorney-General is listening to the community and not just to content industry lobbyists. Australia’s consumers, creative artists and educators have suffered for too long under an out-dated copyright regime that restricts choice and stifles innovation and creativity. The government clearly understands the need to invest in the broadband infrastructure that Australia needs to compete in the global digital economy. It’s critical that our copyright law is reformed, with the introduction of fair use, to ensure that we realise the full potential of that investment.”