FLASHBACK S92 protesters outside parliament. An iconic campaign against the outgoing Labour government's Copyright Amendment (New Technologies) Act saw people blacking out their Facebook photos gained international attention - but even some "Blackout" supporters were surprised when the Prime Minister rallied to their cause, suspending is internet piracy provision pending a re-write. But will the revised version, about to arrive, be any more to their liking?

The year began with heated controversy of the Copyright Amendment (New Technologies) Act, and is set to end the same way.

I checked in with Justice Minister Simon Power’s, office, which confirmed a rewrite of the law’s most controversial provision - Section 92a or “S92” - covering sanctions against internet pirates, in the home or office - would be put to cabinet before Christmas.

Kow-towing to counterfeiting treaty?
Both United leader Peter Dunne and Labour’s communications spokeswoman, Clare Curran, have asked whether the government is coming under pressure over a second controversial element - the international Anti-counterfeiting Trade Agreement - is delaying S92.

And over at Kiwiblog, David Farrar notes that a Motion Picture Association of America had a vice president over here lobbying recently (I'd counter that a US corporates from the other side of the argument, Google, has let the government know its thoughts too).

Mr Farrar also points out it's been four months since a new draft of S92 was first proposed.

The secrecy surrounding ACTA, it’s free-ranging brief that could ride roughshod over local intellectual property laws, and the apparent lack of New Zealand input into the treaty are all worrying (CFF, which was behind the S92 blackout campaign, has banded with others to form an anti-ACTA coalition. See Computerworld’s story here and the official site here.)

Dates don't work out
But whatever ACTA’s potential nefariousness, the treaty discussions are still in a relatively early phase (as the coalition points out, there’s an MED discussion on it next Wednesday, which it will follow with the Twitter tag #ACTA).

And these sorts of things always take torturous amounts of time (it's just been announced that NZ will host ACTA talks in April)  - whereas Mr Power, as noted, has reaffirmed the new S92 will be with us by Christmas (the same deadline as the minister provided in August, incidentally).

Even if you assume the worst - that the government wanted to bend the revised S92 around ACTA, on a simple practical level the timetable would make it tricky. Still, answers next week.

The possible wrinkle: Mr Power will get the finalised S92 in front of cabinet by Christmas, as promised, but cabinet un-finalises it pending an ACTA-related review. But it's hard to see the government dragging things out still further - and that its said ACTA holds no sway over S92.

Let me take you back ...
In March, when he announced the suspension of the original S92 just before it came into force, Prime Minister John Key did so with much fanfare. But it looks like the revised version is going to be quietly tabled just as the silly season’s kicking in.

As it was passed by Labour last year, S92 called for ISPs to form a code of practice centered around disconnecting customers if they ignored three warning notices about downloading pirated internet material (at home or work), or three requests to take copyright material off a website.

How S92 could look
Expect the revamped S92 to stick closely the solution recommended by an MED working party mid-year: that is, for an expanded version of the current Copyright Tribunal to police internet content, rather than ISPs (the working party was stuffed with current and former Copyright Tribunal members, so it’s suggested solution should perhaps be no surprise).

Both record and movie companies, and freedom of information fans at the other end of the spectrum, see the tribunal as a good, neutrally-minded solution.

Still at issue: whether a person (or company) should receive “the ultimate sanction” internet after ignorning three warnings - losing their internet connection (Read: Power nods to EMA, Google, others' concerns about internet termination.)

I do wonder how the three-person tribunal, which has a tiny infrastructure at present, could cope with hundreds - or potentially thousands - of copyright complaints (across the Tasman, the second largest ISP, iiNet, found itself sending 1000 violation notices a week following a similar law change). Mr Power has pledged to provide more resource. The question now is by how much.

NBR print stories online
Speaking of the iiNet case, Rick Shera will have a report in tomorrow’s print edition of NBR - which is also my cue to announce that, starting this week, print stories from NBR are being put on our website on a one-week delay (and behind the paywall).

Formerly, online and print have run completely different content. NBR 24/7 will continue to have the same level of content - created by one of NZ’s larger newsrooms - but now it’ll be supplement by archive stories from NBR the olde time print newsletter.