General Principles
(2) LIANZA strongly endorses the Position Paper's statements regarding the major objectives of copyright legislation, which in particular are:
- to provide incentives to ensure the creation, development and dissemination of copyright works; and
- to ensure a proper balance between the protection provided to authors and copyright owners, in order to encourage creativity, and the needs of society and copyright users to benefit from the ideas and knowledge incorporated within publications, whether these are in printed, audio-visual or electronic form.
(3) LIANZA agrees with the view (Position Paper paragraph 24) that the key principle guiding the development of copyright policy is the enhancement of the public interest, and in particular that the approach to law reform must be a principled one, based on broad principles, not narrowly defined and negotiated rights and exceptions.
(4) LIANZA also endorses the Position Paper's recognition (paragraph 28) of the vital role played by educational institutions, libraries and archives in providing access to copyright works, thereby contributing to the public interest balance that copyright policy seeks to achieve.
(5) One of the critical roles of libraries is to assist members of society to utilise copyright materials. Digital technology and the Internet provide new opportunities for libraries to make their information resources available beyond their physical buildings (which are, inevitably, bounded by the barriers of space and time) to authenticated users wherever they are located, and at whatever times they wish to access that information. By providing access to electronic resources, libraries are able to extend access to copyright materials to a much wider client base, and in particular to the house-bound, to those who live long distances from their local libraries, to those who cannot afford transport costs, to those who need information at times when their libraries are closed, to school-children doing their homework, to business people requiring trade, statistical or commercial information, to citizens needing to access e-government information, to students undertaking distance education courses, etc. etc. Provision of access to electronic resources hugely extends library resources and services to library clients, and enormously assists the vital social and educational roles played by libraries in contributing to the knowledge society.
(6) LIANZA strongly supports the view (Position Paper paragraph 31) that copyright law should be technologically neutral, and that it should be written in such a way that it can apply to both present and future technologies. In particular, LIANZA considers that legislative provisions should apply consistently across the digital and analogue / print environments; and that the Copyright Act's "permitted acts" should apply equally to print, audio, video, digital, or any other formats. As stated in paragraph 10 of the July 2001 Discussion Paper, "New technologies do not affect the principles that govern copyright".
(7) LIANZA also endorses the Position Paper statement (paragraph 30) that copyright law should be clear and transparent: citizens have a right to know what the law is, and what is permitted and what is not permitted, without needing to resort to lawyers or the Courts.
(8) LIANZA's answer to the first question raised in the Position Paper (paragraph 13), therefore, is that the Copyright Act 1994 does need amendment, in order to achieve the objectives outlined in the previous two paragraphs of this Submission.
(9) And LIANZA's response to the second question of the Position Paper (paragraph 14) is that the principles of copyright law should apply equally to all types of formats. Digital formats should wherever possible be treated the same as other formats, except in those instances where (as referred to in paragraph 31) the uniqueness of the digital format requires different or specific treatment - for example, in relation to transient copying or technological protection measures.
(10) Paragraphs 12 and 29 of the Position Paper refer to the WIPO Internet Treaties. While LIANZA agrees that it is important that New Zealand takes advantage of the protection offered by international copyright law, it believes that this should not be at the expense of maintaining the balance between copyright owners and the users of copyright materials which is the essence of good copyright law.
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