Provisions of the Copyright Amendment Bill 2006

Information about the inquiry

On 19 October 2006 , the Senate referred the above Bill to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee for inquiry and report by 10 November 2006.

The Bill makes a range of major amendments to the Copyright Act 1968. Amongst other things, the Bill implements the outcomes of several copyright reviews conducted by the Federal Government in 2005-06 in relation to 'fair use' exceptions and encoded broadcasts. It also gives effect to Australia's remaining intellectual property obligations under the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement by implementing a liability scheme for certain activities relating to the circumvention of Technological Protection Measures; and by setting out a number of permissible exceptions to that liability scheme.

Lodging Submissions

Submissions are called for by 30 October 2006. Submissions become Committee documents and are only made public after a decision by the Committee. Unauthorised release of submissions is not covered by parliamentary privilege. Further assistance can be obtained by phoning the secretariat on (02) 6277 3560.

For further information, contact:

Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Phone:	+61 2 6277 3560
Fax:	+61 2 6277 5794
Email:	legcon.sen@aph.gov.au