New Zealand govt. is seeking comment on whether to update its cop...

responses. Two key questions must be answered, MED said: (1) Whether Copyright Act of 1994 needs to be amended at all given its recent enactment and fact that it already covers new technologies such as computer programs and cable TV. (2) Extent to which “digital is different” -- that is, whether digital challenge is so different from analog technologies that different approach to copyright is warranted. Most controversial area is technological protection measures (TPMs), MED said. There, govt. is asking for comment on whether act’s section on copy and access protection should provide specific access protection that doesn’t directly prevent copying of copyrighted materials. MED said it preferred not to legislate against circumvention of TPMs that controlled only access. Ministry also asked whether copyright owners should have right of action against actual use of circumvention device or -- as govt. prefers -- whether liability should be restricted to provision of means of circumvention, as law already provides. MED said it wanted to “avoid the apparent anomaly created by copyright legislation in Australia and the United States, and in the European Union Copyright Directive. Under these regimes, while the act of circumvention is not expressly prohibited, or is permitted to allow the exercise of permitted acts or specific exceptions, the manufacture or provision of devices or information to facilitate that circumvention is prohibited.” Consultation also seeks input on exceptions to TPM requirement and whether violations should be criminalized. Other issues MED aims to address include adequacy of New Zealand’s existing reproduction and communication rights, proper extent of ISP liability for copyright infringements and exceptions to copyright rights. Comments are due Feb. 21 -- victoria.pearson@med.govt.nz.