IP: Australian e-mail copyrights

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

>http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,1768268%255E421,00.html
>
>Sunday Telegraph
>
>Sharing e-mail banned by law
>
>FORWARDING an e-mail to friends, family or colleagues without permission
>from the sender is illegal from today and could result in severe
>penalties.
>
>New laws set out maximum penalties of five years' jail or fines of
>$60,000.
>
>The illegality stems from breaching the copyright held by the person who
>originally wrote the e-mail.
>
>An estimated five million or more e-mails are forwarded each day around
>the nation.
>
>Attorney-General Daryl Williams QC has warned Australians that they could
>be breaking the law, if they continue to forward e-mails from today.
>
>"It's quite possible that the forwarding of an e-mail could be a
>technical infringement of copyright," Mr Williams' legal adviser told The
>Sunday Telegraph.
>
>"E-mailing something is a `communication' under the Digital Agenda Act
>and so is putting something up on a website."
>
>The new measures cover material which already has copyright protection --
>such as excerpts from books or song lyrics -- as well as personal
>messages.
>
>This means a simple message about office gossip, holiday plans or a new
>romance carries personal copyright and the recipient has no right to
>forward it without permission.
>
>An e-mail sex scandal erupted in Britain last year when London lawyer
>Bradley Chait forwarded a personal e-mail from his girlfriend, Claire
>Swire, to six friends, who in turn forwarded the e-mail to others. The
>e-mail, which described his sexual prowess, eventually made its way
>around the world and led to the lawyer being severely disciplined by his
>employer.
>
>Internet Industry Association executive director Peter Coroneos said
>forwarding e-mail had probably always involved a technical breach of
>copyright, adding: "It's a matter of whether the authors themselves are
>likely to be concerned."
>
>He urged people sending e-mail to spell out whether they gave permission
>for the content to be forwarded to others.



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