The Australian Sony PlayStation Case: How Far Will Anti-circumvention Law Reach in the Name of DRM?

This chapter overviews the legal issues arising from the modification of the Sony PlayStation console under Australian Copyright Law - the so called anti-circumvention provisions. It will explain how these provisions have been interpreted by the courts and focus on the very recent decision of the Australian High Court. The article concludes by examining the extent to which the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) will impact upon this area of law. Fearing the death of copyright in the digital networks of the Internet, states of the world agreed in Article 11, WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) 19961 to pass laws that would prohibit circumvention of (through hacking or interfering with) technological measures (DRM) used to protect copyright information e.g. passwords, and copy controls. These laws, known as anti-circumvention laws, are epitomized by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998 (DMCA) in the USA and a similar set of provisions in the amended Australian Copyright Act 1968. T...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: DRMTICS
• Authors: Brian Fitzgerald
• Keywords: Australian Copyright, Australian Copyright Act 1968, Copyright, DRMTICS 2005, Security Privacy