By Dan Satherley
Innocent people are likely to be accused of copyright infringement under new laws which kick in next week – and what's worse is they will be assumed guilty.
Chief executive of Internet NZ Vikram Kumar says internet users need to prepare themselves for the new regime, whether they download copyrighted material from the internet or not.
And the sooner, the better. Although infringement notices can't be issued until September, copyright holders will be on the hunt for suspected pirates as early as next week.
"The infringements start counting from August 11, which is 21 days before the law comes into force," Mr Kumar told 3 News. "That's one week from today – so people need to get ready."
To help, Internet NZ has launched a new website, 3strikes.net.nz. It's named after the three chances, or strikes, the new law gives accused copyright thieves before slapping them with a fine of up to $15,000.
Mr Kumar says the purpose of the site isn't to help people get away with illegal downloading, but to help people avoid getting accused in the first place, and provide them with advice should they receive a notice.
"To be very clear, we don't like the law, but it is the law," says Mr Kumar. "So we're not encouraging people to break it, we're not giving them ways to break it. What we're trying to do is tell people the law will catch some people who are completely innocent."
Mr Kumar says when the law was being drafted, Google submitted to the Government that "something like 20 to 30 percent" of copyright claims are either "false, inaccurate or they don't actually own the copyright in the first place".
"Now under our law, there's no penalty for a false accusation," he says.
Not only is there no penalty for false accusation, but no proof is required that any downloading ever took place.
"At the stage of sending a notice, they simply are allowed to send a notice with the information, and if you don't challenge it, it's assumed to be right," says Mr Kumar.
The only hurdle a copyright holder has to jump is the $25 fee it costs to lodge a claim, but even that's up for debate.
Almost every internet service provider that made a submission to the Government on the new law estimated the cost of passing on infringement notices to customers would be more than $25 each time. Orcon said it could even be as high as $78.
And Mr Kumar said he wasn't sure whether that fee is charged per person accused of downloading, or each item downloaded, no matter how many people downloaded it.
"My understanding is that it's $25 per IP address where there is an allegation of infringement," he says. "Others believe it's $25 per notice, which could have hundreds of IP addresses."
The Ministry of Economic Development confirmed to 3 News the $25 fee applies to each IP address, and each alleged infringement. This means if a rights owner accused 100 people of downloading a single movie, it would cost $2500 - $25 per person.
Because of the limited scope of the three-strikes law – it only covers peer-to-peer sharing – Internet NZ recommends uninstalling any peer-to-peer software that isn't being used.
"Just the existence of peer-to-peer software on a computer causes risk, because it is possible for rights owners to request a file which you don't, but interpret the response that you have the file, and they can send you a notice on that basis," says Mr Kumar.
"That's not to say peer-to-peer software isn't legitimate or can't be used for very valuable things, but the point is if you're not using it, completely remove it."
Internet NZ says it will keep a close eye on any disputed cases that come before the Copyright Tribunal, and will endeavour to help out in cases they feel are unfair.
"I think it's at that stage – if and when we see a case – where our legal advice will be, 'Yep, you have a good chance of getting this,' we will join that case if we can," says Mr Kumar.
A decade on from the closure of Napster, illegal downloading is more popular than ever. In its submission to the Government, the NZ Federation Against Copyright Theft said that New Zealand has "one of the highest rates of peer-to-peer infringement in the world".
But Internet NZ says although it's illegal, it's not necessarily wrong.
"Almost all of the illegal downloading of TV shows is simply because the rights owners choose to use a business model where New Zealand gets TV shows six months or a year after other countries," says Mr Kumar.
"People are willing to pay – if you're not willing to take their money, it's morally wrong to go and take them to the Copyright Tribunal."
3 News