Copyright Inquiry e-news | Terms of Reference received

Issue 2 | 29 June 2012  View original format

from Professor Jill McKeough

Last month I joined the ALRC as the Commissioner in Charge of the Copyright Inquiry, taking leave from my role as Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Technology, Sydney. The Terms of Reference we received today set an ambitious agenda for a major review of copyright issues in the digital environment. We have been informed that over sixty submissions were made to the Government on the draft Terms of Reference and the goodwill from stakeholders and high level of interest in the Inquiry bodes well for the process.  

I have found at the ALRC a keen team of legal officers and support staff and together we are beginning to plan the broad-ranging consultations ahead and scope out the complex and challenging issues. I am looking forward to meeting many stakeholders over the coming period as the Inquiry gets underway and am delighted to be part of this important work.

Under the final Terms of Reference received today, the ALRC is to consider whether exceptions and statutory licences in the Copyright Act 1968 are adequate and appropriate in the digital environment and whether further exceptions should be recommended.

See full Terms of Reference >>

The ALRC is due to report by the end of November 2013.

We will use this newsletter to keep you informed of the Inquiry’s progress and to seek input at specific stages. We will consult key stakeholders throughout the Inquiry, with the first call for formal submissions occurring upon the release of an Issues Paper.

As with all ALRC inquiries, the process works best with as much stakeholder participation as possible. If you know of anyone you think might be interested in this inquiry, please invite them to subscribe to this newsletter.

As we kick off a new inquiry, it is timely to describe the ALRC law reform process to new stakeholders.

While each inquiry process differs and needs to be tailored to accommodate the scope, the range of key stakeholders, the complexity of the laws under review and the timeframe, the ALRC usually works within a set framework in developing recommendations for reform….

The law reform process >>