Background

On 2 March 2011, after a consultation period which ended in late January, the final Terms of Reference for the Convergence Review ("Convergence Review") were announced by Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. The Convergence Review can be viewed at - click here to read the Review.

Scope of the Convergence Review

The Convergence Review will reassess existing regulatory frameworks applicable to media, telecommunications, radio, television and the internet in light of their convergence through innovations in technology. This will take into account the quiet revolution in the ways that the Australian public accesses and consumes content and media.

The technology facilitating converged media is accelerating rapidly, but media and communications regulations have not kept pace. The Convergence Review will include scrutiny of legislation such as the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 in light of the new media landscape with its promises for transformation of content delivery via the NBN, and the switch to digital television.

Focus on copyright

In its submissions to the Commonwealth Government regarding the Convergence Review, the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft ("AFACT") referred to the 2008 "OECD Policy Guidelines for Convergence and Next Generation Networks" and the importance of protection of intellectual property rights in the digital economy. AFACT extracted the following quote:

"Governments may need to address cross-border issues as services are increasingly geographically and network independent. This creates significant challenges for policy-makers. In particular, they might need to: Review consumer protection frameworks, content regulation measures, the protection of intellectual property rights, the protection of privacy and personal data, and legal interception".1

Speaking to journalists at an online retail forum in Sydney in February 2011, Senator Conroy was quoted as saying: "One of the issues I'm sure that will be debated [in the Convergence Review] is piracy ... so I expect that will be a large part of the review. ... We won't form any policy until after the convergence review is finished."

It is difficult to imagine a Convergence Review that will not address the relevance of existing copyright laws, especially in light of the recent Federal Court appeal decision in the iiNet case2. Accordingly, the preamble to the Convergence Review states that: "The government recognises that any discussion of the production and distribution of Australian content raises issues of copyright in the digital age. The Review Committee may offer views on copyright and the ongoing protection of content in a converged environment, noting that the Attorney-General will ultimately determine these matters".

The Review Committee will be expected to deliver a report to the Government in the first quarter of 2012.

1. Page 6, sub section 12 - Cross Border Issues

2. Roadshow Films Pty Limited v iiNet Limited [2011] FCAFC 23 (24 February 2011)

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