No shortcuts to relegislating S92A

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RIANZ CEO says delay is a 'price worth paying'

By Stephen Bell | Wellington | Wednesday, 25 March, 2009

There is no short route to amending Section 92A of the Copyright Act; an amendment bill will have to be introduced to Parliament, Commerce Minister Simon Power’s office confirms.

That potentially opens the matter again to a whole new round of select committee consideration with an opportunity for public submissions. The minister’s office declines to give an estimate of when a bill might be tabled in the House, saying only that officials have been told to start work on a redrafted text immediately.

Recording Industry Association of NZ (RIANZ) chief executive Campbell Smith says in an emailed statement: “The delay required to implement the government’s decision to amend the law is obviously disappointing but that’s a price worth paying if the result is clear legislation that effectively addresses the problem.

“The recording industry worked hard with its partners in the technology sector to supplement the current version of Section 92A with a fair and transparent code for its implementation,” says Smith. “The government remains committed to tackling unlawful file-sharing and has decided that it should mandate such a process through legislation. This means we can have a comprehensive approach that covers all players in the telecomms market.”