Australian Copyright Laws vs. Cloud Storage
Australia is known as having some of the toughest copyright laws in the world. Many Aussies believe that the law is archaic and non-conducive to cloud business ventures. The trouble arises from the strict copyright laws that could bring into question the cloud storage enterprises liability in regard to hosting copyrighted materials its users upload into Australian data centers. Last week, a commission focused on reforming Australian copyright laws asked that the Australian government review the existing laws alongside recommendations that will make Australian copyright laws more cloud business friendly.
The goal is to bring Australian copyrights laws more in line with the “fair use” provisions used in countries such as the United States. Once these laws are brought up to snuff, many analysts believe a cloud explosion will happen Down Under. Mark Vincent is an attorney with an Aussie Intellectual Property law firm named Shelston IP. In his analysis, he mentions, “If there were broader fair use exceptions and broader laws allowing people to format shift and time shift, then, undoubtedly, new business models could step in and fill up space. It probably is a case where the law needs to constantly move if it wants Australia to compete with those types of business models.”
Even tech titans such as Google have weighed in on Australia’s stringent copyright laws. Google released a statement saying, “Outdated copyright laws are standing [in] the way of Australia meeting its cloud computing and digital economy goals.”
The outlook looks optimistic for those wanting to get in the Australian cloud storage sector. Specialty cloud storage vendors will sprout up all across Australia and build out new data center infrastructure just to facilitate the data storage needs of Aussies who would like to store their data inside their own country. These laws are expected to change this year and there is a huge swell of support due to the positive economic factors of having more Australian cloud data storage companies in the marketplace competing for business.
