Pete writes ” Wired brings us this story ; “Australia appears ready to adopt U.S-style copyright laws, courtesy of a Free Trade Agreement deal negotiated between the two countries.
But the agreement has some Australian civil liberties advocates and lawyers crying foul. They say it’s nothing more than a money-grab by the powerful U.S. copyright owners lobby, and claim the Australian government has sold consumers’ rights to media conglomerates in the United States for dubious trade concessions in other industries.
“The United States is the biggest exporter of intellectual property in the world. They want other countries to amend their laws to make sure the U.S. has a captive market for these products,” said Dale Clapperton, a board member of Electronic Frontiers Australia or EFA, an online civil liberties group that is leading the charge against the new laws.””
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