Finally, Michael Bassett's latest "newspaper column" did not appear in an actual newspaper, only on his website. Has the Dom Post given him the boot?

While offering no opinion on Bassett myself, The Column did run in The Press on Tuesday 5th December page A9.

What Basset says is pretty much what he accuses Hager of – a conspiracy theory. A vast media conspiracy to believe Hager's hundreds of pages of documentation...

In its current...

Or am I getting too tinfoil-beanie for my own good?

is the best way to describe Bassett. While everyone else in that photo is immediately recognizable and all have left their mark on NZ. Almost no one can pick him out. A isn't he just so damn bitter about it.

all me a crooked kook, but how many people really give a crap what the law is on ripped tunes?

I do. I run a Linux (Ubuntu) distribution on all my computers. It is far more secure and user friendly than any Windows system. I like having a choice of...

When making laws, why don't we only make those laws we really need and are understood and accepted (as far as possible) by those affected.

Chances are that enforcement would be a doddle.

The key issue with the legislation as proposed is that whatever bone we get thrown over format shifting will be completely...

I noticed 3 News running an extended promotion for the new iTunes store, which included cheerfully telling us it will sell albums for under $20 without once mentioning the restrictions that will apply to them.

Actually, with the exception of the Campbell Live interview with Chris Hocquard, 3's coverage neglected...

So I wonder whether in NZ it would be still allowed to make a copy of a non DRM protected format for personal use.

Not until the new bill passes. It also ushers in a much richer definition of "fair dealing", which hasn't been very good under NZ copyright law...

www.videolan.org/vlc/

Works really well for OS X and Windows.

I'd be interested to see opinion from more legally minded bods on whether there's scope for DMCA takedown abuse in this legislation.

We really need to stop and think about what's actually happening here: the government is proposing to make certain actions by a large swathe of the population criminal offences.

Who will...

It's worth noting that both DVD Region Free and Videolan are likely to be outlawed by the new legislation.

Well, they seem to be making an exception for DVD region-coding, but it's hard to tell. If it's a "permitted act" to make a copy of a musical recording to your...

Something very similar happened with the reviewed software patent laws. MEDs initial discussion documents held little...

Who will enforce the new laws? Not the government, but those with vested interest, namely the movie and recording studios representatives.

and its a particularly worrying situation in NZ where legislation seems to be being written by and primarily for the benefit of a commercial entity and of dubious value...

legislation seems to be being written by and primarily for the benefit of a commercial entity and of dubious value to the public as a whole. DRM essentially benefits the four major record companies and Apple, no one else (and certainly not the artists they represent)

And then I found...

Let us not forget the fact that what the RIAA does will be followed by RIANZ

These are the same people who in the seventies and before used to credit much of the mechanical publishing to "copyright control" , which meant it was unknown and went into an account to...

That this increasingly preposterous man should have spoken out on the business is hardly a surprise – the subject on which he cannot be persuaded to give his opinion has yet to be found. But why anyone indulges his pious preaching on this or Africa, when...

Anything for the zombies.

Because we all know pop stars like Bono are the epitome of sane rationalism. (Love the Jobs Blog, David.)

It's worth noting that both DVD Region Free and Videolan are likely to be outlawed by the new legislation.

Well, they seem to be making an exception for DVD region-coding, but it's hard to tell.

It's further worth noting that, at least in the case of Apple's portable machines, they're...

On December 1 The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the RIAA is currently petitioning the panel of federal government Copyright Royalty Judges to lower the rates paid to publishers and songwriters...

Ben, you see that the RIAA wants artist royalties lowered,

Heh. Beat me to it ...

Wow. They love their artists so much that they want to give them an even smaller cut of the action then they get now.

it seems to be one of the raison d'êtres of record company legal departments, to reinterpret the provisions of their contracts to reduce payments as much...

The most surprising thing is how surprised people are when a corporation screws them.

No one expects companies not to actively pursue profits for their shareholders, but the record companies cannot really put their hands up and cry poor or expect sympathy for their current woes in the face of...

Like the recording labels, New Line will bill any and every cost that it can possibly manage to justify as a cost of making the...

Something that becomes even more pertinent when this sort of thing is being protected by the state – what happens when the copyright does expire?

I suppose the companies have a right to put out stuff so you can't get at it...

The classic example in recording contracts is the label taking the artist out for dinner and drinks, then expensing that against the album production cost.

the classic record company item is payment on "net receipts", which means gross receipts less any expenses they want to throw at it. Its a...

pre-emptive deals made by New Line that were not fully opened to market competition but apportioned instead to other "vertically integrated" companies within the Time Warner empire to which New Line belongs.

In other words, if...

Jeremy, But technically the relationship between, say EMI and Coldcut, should be a profit sharing one.

Hence the sociopathy diagnosis. Technically the relationship between Telecom & Ihug should be a profit sharing one, the relationship between Foodstuffs Inc & their suppliers should be profit sharing, but inevitably the larger 'partner' will do...

It still comes back to what the hell is Judith doing running around after them at this stage in the game. I hold her as a person and an associate arts minister in some regard...

"81A Copying sound recording for private and domestic use

"(1) Copyright in a sound recording and in a literary or musical...

I think it's amazing that every comment in this thread can be opposed to both the principles and the...

Or perhaps she's got lifetime free downloads from the iTunes store as a kickback?

Scenario: I buy a CD, and it has the SonyBMG rootkit on it. If I stick it in my PC it won't allow me to copy the music to my...

1. Set up a legitimate New Zealand company, ostensibly with the goal of music distribution. (For extra laughs, I'd even become a member of RIANZ.)
2. Put out a free music CD, given away on street corners by...

As far as I can tell, almost every section of this act is broken in one way or another -...

Or perhaps she's got lifetime free downloads from the iTunes store as a kickback?

don't forget its Xmas party season....you don't want to be the one not invited to the RIANZ party.

Actually that's not fair..I think Judith, who has, in my experience over many years, fairly strong ethics, is...

whole idea of life + 50/70/etc years to be rather repugnant, surely the exclusive economic control over an artistic work should have no relation to the length of time the creator lives

this is only mildly interesting, but Cliff Richard being the sad old bugger he is, has outlived his...

So the Bill came up for its first reading in the House on Wednesday, and every single damn MP in the House (except for the Greens) voted for the stupid thing.

Of course they did – it can't get to Select Committee if they don't. And it's at that stage...

And it's at that stage that you have to engage to make your voices heard

Absolutely, and "ranting" here and elsewhere helps develop the content of the submissions as well as generating enough interest that hopefully can be used to support submissions. I, for one am intending to turn my...

Hoping they'll pay attention to the rants on this thread is like hoping they'll legislate according to the comments on Micheal Laws' talkback show – not desirable under any circumstances.
Really, people, remember how the process works.

My original comment was not intended to say that the debate should occur...

My comment was actually prompted by Ben Gracewood's agony that Judith Tizard had not refused to present the Bill based on his email.

Point taken .... and you're completely right – the select committee is the venue in which to argue the detail of the bill. Time to get together...

If this is such a fabulous piece of legislation, where are the posts from the musicians claiming they can't live without it? Or the small record labels calling for the ability to imprison their customers?

Sadly, from my reading of the TRIPS agreement and the WCT and WPPT this Bill...

It gives one cause for thought. We may all be aiming at RIANZ, and rightly so,...

Sadly, from my reading of the TRIPS agreement and the WCT and WPPT this Bill is all about sucking up to the US in the hope of making some progress towards an NZ-US FTA.

Sadly, Stephen, I think you are 100% correct in your assessment. There is clearly no value...

Let's say you go buy an audio CD from your local retailer, and it contains the current generation of DRM software on the CD. This is generally Windows-only, and relies on the auto-run feature in Windows to...

So would that mean my company, which disables auto-run in group policy for security and anti-viral reasons, would be infringing (on a couple of thousand PCs); or does intent count?

Disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer – IANAL!

However .... intent is obviously the first step. But it does emphasise how appallingly badly...

Clarke, I think you're OK with the shift key, because you're not defeating a TPM for commercial reasons?

Nice try, Ben, but the Bill seems to work like this:

s226: "TPM ... includes any process, treatment, mechanism, device or system that is designed in the normal course of its operation...

Right now I pay $ for a CD and can play it on pretty much anything I like. The reduced price for downloaded music is supposed to recognise a considerably lower distribution cost, not fewer rights.

It seems to me that all this discussion will go unnoticed...

Does any one know how / where to start one?

Try Petition Online...

I subscribe to an EU focused information rights newsletter, and when I remember to read it they often have some interesting stuff.

Here are some links for copyright:

A US publisher's take on NZ and our copyright laws from 2007 – we are a...

The website (and their mission)
http://www.boycott-riaa.com/mission

poster taking the piss out of the anti piracy clip on dvds:
http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/21485