U.S. pushes intellectual property tyranny in New Zealand

New Zealands Three Strikes Law was Pushed, Bought and Paid for by the US – Wikileaks open quoteThe slow trickle of leaked diplomatic cables from Wikileaks may not be in the headlines as much as it was when it started, but revelations keep pouring out of the website. Recently, new diplomatic cables published on the site revealed just how, not only influential the US was, but just how much control the US had over the passage of the three strikes law in New Zealand.

If there wasn’t any anti-American sentiment before in New Zealand, there certainly will be for some after new diplomatic cables were published revealing the role the US had in pushing for a three strikes law in New Zealand. The New Zealand’s new three strikes law was the most controversial copyright laws in the country and one of the most controverisal in the world. While the law was being proposed, debate was fierce. The law sparked repeated blackout protests where websites would black out their website logo’s in protest of the law since it is widely seen as a censorship law more than a copyright enforcement law. Last month, in spite of major opposition and protests, New Zealand passed the law anyway to the dismay of the New Zealand population. Now, thanks to Wikileaks, we can see just how far back the United States was pushing New Zealand to pass that law in the first place.close quote (Read more)

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‘Skynet’ law comes into effect open quoteDownloaders beware – from today you can face serious fines for online piracy.

The Government’s Copyright Amendment Act comes into force today and anyone caught downloading copyrighted content illegally could face fines of up to $15,000 and have their internet cut off.

Internet New Zealand chief executive Vikram Kumar says the law means the person who pays the bill for the account needs to be very aware of who’s using the internet and what they’re using it for.close quote (Read more)

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