Mon, 03 Aug 2009 4:45p.m.
By Dan Parker
Six major Hollywood studios have joined forces to criticise the Government's plan to stamp out internet copyright theft.
The group also has the support of a major movie rental chain which says the rental industry is on the brink of collapse, with 21 video store closures in the last year alone.
"What concerns us is not only the video stores closing, but of course the thousand of jobs that it effects," says United Video general manager Lindsay Hall.
United Video largely blames internet piracy for their $20 million revenue slump in the last year.
The Government is acting with changes to copyright law, which would see internet service providers and rights holders dobbing in suspected infringers. The Copyright Tribunal would then impose punishments: "Fines, damages or possibly termination if continued infringement occurred," according Minister of Commerce Simon Power.
The Government has worked with a lobby group representing six Hollywood studios, including Paramount, Disney and Fox to come up with this plan, but the parties involved are now distancing themselves from it, saying action against the pirates will take too long and not provide a strong enough deterrent.
"Ninety days is too long," says Tony Eaton, Federation Against Copyright Theft. "What we are seeking is an educative, graduative response where the online infringer is given two educative notices. If they do not listen to that education notice then we are seeking the ultimate sanction of their internet account."
The proposed legislation relies heavily on ISPs and rights holders to locate pirates. It is problematic because some connections work off dynamic IP addresses which change every time they connect to the internet.
"Dynamic IP addresses are common in New Zealand," says IT expert Lars Vandrey. "When you dial into the internet through your phone line you'll probably get a dynamic IP address."
While most cable broadband connections have just one static identifying number, dynamic addresses are much harder to track. It is just one example of an ever-changing digital landscape which highlights technology can and will move faster than legislators.
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