Ministerial discussion document asks: how the heck will the internet file-sharing law work?

It allows a rights holder (such as a movie studio or record label) to accuse an internet account holder of illegally downloading copyrighted material, such as a song or film. The account holder is then sent a series of warning letters, over three months, by their internet service provider.

If the matter is unresolved, it then goes to the Copyright Tribunal, which can levy a fine of up to $15,000.

During the process the onus is on the accused to prove their innocence.

As a further sanction, an offender’s internet account can be cut off (although under the revised version of the law, only by an order-in-council, created by a cabinet minister then signed by the Governor General).

Now what?
This afternoon, Justice Minister Simon Power - who didn't bother to attend the bill's second or third readings, under urgency, has released a discussion document on the new legislation.

Keallhauled's key question is how the Copyright Tribunal - currently consisting of three part-time members, soon to be five - can possibly cope with a deluge of potentially thousands of complaints a month.

Lowndes Jordan partner Rick Shera points out that French copyright holders are sending 50,000 notices per day. The New Zealand equivalent would be 3200 a day

Another poser: how to make life easier for businesses, which are culpable for the actions of rogue employees - even if if a staffer is fired for an infringement, or second or third offences are caused by different people.

The discussion document asks several other questions, which boil down to, "How the heck do we make this thing work".

Four headline areas where Mr Power is open to ideas:

• Requirements for information that copyright owners send to ISPs under the new notice regime.
• Form and content of notices.
• The fee an ISP may charge a copyright owner for performing its functions under the bill.
• The method by which the copyright tribunal will calculate awards for copyright infringement.

See the full discussion document online here.

Submissions close May 27.