2014

Interview with Natalie Stoianoff regarding Intellectual Property in China

Date: 2 October, 2014
Source: 2SER FM, ABC
Academic: Professor Natalie Stoianoff
Description: Mark Varney interview with Natalie Stoianoff, intellectual property expert, University of Technology, Sydney about a forum hosted by the university's China Law Research Group on intellectual property in China. Stoianoff says the forum was looking at counterfeit products and their movement throughout their world, their value to global trade, and what can be done to combat counterfeit products crossing borders and coming into Australia. She says they were looking at the laws that relate specifically to border protection and how that has been operating from the Australian perspective. She says they were also looking at the rules and regulations for border protection in China, where the majority of the counterfeit products come from, and how the Chinese authorities have been dealing with this from an import and export perspective. Varney suggests Customs would be more interested in looking for bombs, but Stoianoff says counterfeit products have become an important issue. She says some counterfeits refill genuine packages with something that is not the product, which could be dangerous. She says for example, a person could assume they are buying Fab or OMO washing powder, but how do they know it is legitimate soap powder? She discusses how China's attitude to intellectual property has changed, and notes Chinese business has embraced intellectual property rights. She says the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement should be transparent, but she understands the reasoning for not having such transparency, because they are still at the negotiation stage. She says UTS is trying to develop a program that is going to bring Chinese and Australian officials together to discuss how to deal with counterfeit products.

Wikimedia is refusing to remove a selfie taken by a monkey

Date: 7 August 2014
Source: ABC Radio National, Canberra
Academic: Professor Michael Fraser
Description: Wikimedia, owner of Wikipedia is refusing to remove a selfie taken by a monkey, despite the photographer's request. Wikimedia says the monkey owns the image, having pressed the button. Michael Fraser, Director of the Communications Law Centre, UTS, says the law of ownership says the copyright of images belongs to the newspaper or freelancer. There are however some exceptions under 'fair dealing', such as research and study and reporting the news causing a grey area.

In the seemingly endless battle between record labels and illegal downloaders, the labels may just have got in front by a nose.

Date: 16 July 2014
Source: Lateline - ABC, Radio National Canberra, 666 ABC Canberra, 720 ABC Perth, 774 ABC Melbourne
Academic: Professor Michael Fraser
Description: Researchers from Victoria's Deakin University have developed a new technology that embeds a digital watermark into music files, leaving a trail showing who has distributed a song. Professor Wanlei Zhou, School of Information Technology, Deakin University, explains how the watermark will be imposed on the digital file before release, noting existing versions of the mark have their limitations, and are vulnerable to tampering. Professor Michael Fraser, Director, Communications Law Centre, University of Technology Sydney, explains the technology would most likely be used to track and punish those facilitating large-scale piracy.

The Supreme Court in the US has ruled that police are not allowed to look through the mobile phones of people they arrest

Date: 26 June, 2014
Source: ABC News 24 Sydney, ABC1 Melbourne
Academic: Professor Michael Fraser
Description: The Supreme Court in the US has ruled that police are not allowed to look through the mobile phones of people they arrest. Frazer says the law is catching up to the digital age, as smartphones have vast amounts of sensitive information. He states that officers will be able to seize a phone, but not look through it. He discusses the issues with protecting privacy with new technologies. Frazer compares Australian laws to the American system, saying theirs are based on fundamental rights while common law in Australia is based on precedent and legislation. He thinks there are probably some grey areas in Australian law. He states that Australians have no personal right to privacy under the law, as is the case in Europe and the US.

Federal Government has mooted possible changes to copyright laws

Date: 24 February, 2014
Source: ABC News 24 Sydney
Academic: Professor Michael Fraser
Description: The Federal Government has mooted possible changes to copyright laws which could see internet providers asked to issue warnings to people who download content. Fraser says we need to ensure creative people's work is respected. He says the laws are there to protect copyright, we need to introduce a generational change to respect the right of people to make a living from their work. He says for a long time ISPs have been unwilling to look at what their customers are downloading. He says any price gouging on content in Australia would be a problem for the ACCC.

2013

Welcome to the new normal: Surveillance in the 21st century

Date: 17 December, 2013
Source: ABC Online
Academic: Professor Michael Fraser, Associate Professor Katherine Biber
Description: The ‘Welcome to the New Normal’ conversation raises issues and concerns around not only surveillance conducted by government agencies but by marketers, the private sector and how we as individuals, through social media, have become active participants in our own surveillance.
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Burberry’s China trademark threat a handbag war worth fighting

Date: 4 December, 2013
Source: The Conversation
Academic: Professor Natalie Stoianoff
Description: Burberry’s iconic Haymarket check tartan pattern is under threat following a trademark dispute in China.
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Big companies globally are profiteering from our private information

Date: 28 November, 2013
Source: 2SER FM
Academic: Professor Michael Fraser
Description: Big companies globally are profiteering from our private information. The sources of private data are multifaceted. Fraser says the EU Consumer Commissioner has said personal data is the new oil of the internet and the new currency of the digital world. He says the EU Vice President has said the great threat to individual liberty comes from companies that use our data to enrich themselves. He says Australia is a member of the signals intelligence cooperation with the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand. He talks about ways to protect our privacy. He suggests introducing a new property right for our private information.

'Copyright is dead. Long Live the Pirates'

Date: 28 November, 2013
Source: ABC News 24
Academic: Professor Michael Fraser
Description:  'Copyright is dead. Long Live the Pirates' debate form the Melbourne Town Hall is chaired by Michael Williams, The Wheeler Centre. Michael Fraser, University of Technology Sydney, argues in the negative. He says copyright is a human right as declared in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A creator has the moral right to respect and a the right to earn a living from their creative work. He says the World Intellectual Property Organisation was established as a United Nations Agency and it current director general is Francis Gurry, an Australian. He says without copyright, independent creative work is not sustainable.