Tag Archives: new zealand

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Returning New Zealand Soldier Fined Under Skynet Law

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By Drew Wilson

Another person in New Zealand was fined under the New Zealand Three Strikes Law (or Skynet). This time, it was a member of the armed forces accused of downloading unauthorized works. He was fined $255.97 after receiving his third strike notice. The problem? He was serving his country in Afghanistan when the alleged infringement took place.

One of the many general criticisms of the three strikes law anywhere is that it would snag innocent people. In New Zealand, the Three Strikes law is guilt upon accusation, so it could even fine innocent people. That’s what happened to a soldier who was serving a tour in Afghanistan. He returned to New Zealand only to find that he received his third strike for copyright infringement. He was subsequently fined $255.97 because his guilt was simply presumed.

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Australian Media Corporation Demands Three Strikes Law

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By Drew Wilson

Some media outlets are picking a fight with the Australian government thanks to proposed laws that would increase oversight in the media. The government’s move was triggered by the phone hacking scandal in Britain. While a lot of attention was focused on regulations, the debate has taken a bizarre twist in which media executives are calling for a three strikes law “similar” to France, New Zealand, and the US.

Could Australia be the next targeted country to face intense lobbying to implement a three strikes law? That appears to be a real possibility if the latest reports are any indication. The Financial Review is reporting that Foztel CEO Richard Freudenstein is demanding that the Australian government put in place a three strikes law that is “similar” to France, the US and New Zealand. From the report:

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France: Music Sales Continue to Fall After Three Strikes Law

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By Drew Wilson

One of the main theories behind the three strikes law is that it would reduce piracy and stop the decline of music sales in the marketplace. France is one of the countries that first put a three strikes law in place for copyright infringement though HADOPI back in 2009. Fast forward to 2013, music sales continued to slide even after the laws were put in place.

HADOPI is one of the laws we’ve been tracking. Last month, procedural error sunk a would-be HADOPI conviction. For those that have followed HADOPI since 2009, that’s just one event in a long list of problems that faced both the law and the enforcement body. Still, that didn’t stop major record labels and movie studies from demanding similar laws be brought in to other countries. New Zealand followed suit with their own version of the three strikes law which was dubbed the “Skynet” law. While there conviction, the major record labels had to spend $250,000 to get a $616.57 fine. While large sums of money may be spent to achieve little results, the three strikes law concept has been dealt with a fresh blow – music sales are slumping even with a three strikes law in place.

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RIANZ Spends $250,000 on Three Strikes Law to Reap $616.57

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By Drew Wilson

The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) finally convicted its first file-sharer under the now tested New Zealand three strikes law. While RIANZ may be feeling satisfied it got a result, the money spent may raise some questions over the effectiveness of such a law.

We’ve been covering the developments of the New Zealand three strikes law for close to a month now. When we reported on the first conviction, one of the things we discussed is the possible similarities between the Skynet law and HADOPI – particularly how the balance sheet didn’t look pretty for HADOPI. Now, today, New Zealand media is reporting on exactly this topic. Apparently, in order to get to this point in time, RIANZ spent a quarter of a million dollars to send out copyright violation notices. Since RIANZ has only gotten one conviction, the rewards for spending that money came to a grand total of $616.57 in fines.

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First File-Sharer Convicted Under New Zealand Three Strikes Law

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By Drew Wilson

New Zealand is the latest in a growing list of countries convicting alleged copyright infringers over so-called three strikes laws. The accused denies involvement in every single accusation, but received a fine under the now tested law.

Earlier this month, we reported that the New Zealand three strikes law was going to be tested. Now, reports have surfaced that the tribunal has handed down its first conviction.

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Music Industry Pressures Radio Station to Pull Mega Ads

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By Drew Wilson

Kim Dotcom’s problems with the record labels isn’t just limited to anything that is related to the shutdown of MegaUpload. With the launch of a new service called “Mega” just days away, Dotcom got ads to air on a radio station. But the music industry wasn’t thrilled just with the idea of the site, so they pressured MediaWorks, the radio stations owners, to pull the plug on their ads.

After a long and eventful road with his online services, Kim Dotcom is hoping to start anew with a service called “Mega”. It is widely seen as a replacement to the now shuttered website “MegaUpload” which was a cloud storage service (or, “cyber locker” or “one-click hoster” as it was termed back when it was still operating) that didn’t require registration to use. With the launch of Mega just days away (specifically, set to launch on the 20th), record labels don’t seem thrilled with the prospect that Dotcom is launching another service and are going to extraordinary lengths to keep it from being a success.

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New Zealand Three Strikes Law to Be Tested

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By Drew Wilson

New Zealand is one of the very few countries in the world to actually put in place a three strikes law. Next month, the law will be put to the test as hearings are set to take place against 11 alleged repeat copyright infringers. While there was originally going to be 17, 6 of these users will not have their case heard in the tribunal.

While the United States is still in the process of trying to implement a so-called “6 strike policy”, some Americans might be grateful that they don’t live in New Zealand where there is a “3 strike law” which not only has disconnection as a consequence, but thousands of dollars in fines as well. There’s been a lot of controversy over the “3 strikes law”. Some of the criticism was directed at the fact that strikes are issued on mere allegations – not proof verified in a court of law. The fact that a mere IP address is used as evidence was also the subject of criticism given that it doesn’t take into account things like WiFi hacking.

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