Digital rights watch: Submission to the Productivity Commission's Intellectual Property Arrangements Inquiry

Digital Rights Watch (DRW) strongly supports the development of evidence-­based intellectual property law. In recent years, the strength of intellectual property regimes worldwide has been steadily ratcheted up through international policy laundering and a complex web of interlocking trade agreements. The result is that Australia is now locked into a set of international standards for intellectual property protection that are not in our national interest, and which have not been optimally implemented. Australia’s rigid intellectual protection regime lacks the flexibility and balance necessary for an efficient system. This has a number of consequences: - Consumers face higher prices and less choice as competition in the market is decreased; - Access and creative reuse of content is impeded by far reaching protection and inadequate exceptions, even for materials where no substantial market exists; - Australia lags behind the systems of other countries that provide a better base for innovation; and - Consumers find copyright “out of touch” and lose respect for intellectual property law.