The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has launched a new inquiry into copyright extensions on the internet, asking for comments from the public by April 27.
The goal of the inquiry is to examine whether the copyright extensions in the Federal Copyright Act are appropriate in the digital environment, said Attorney-General Nicola Roxon in a written statement.
Professor Jill McKeough, dean at the University of Technology Sydney School of Law, is leading the inquiry.
The draft tasks the ALRC to examine whether exceptions should be added to "facilitate legitimate use of copyright works to create and deliver new products and services of public benefit" and to "allow legitimate non-commercial use of copyright works for uses on the internet such as social networking."
Under the draft, the ALRC will report its findings no later than November 30 2013.
Comments may be submitted to the Attorney-General's office at copyright@ag.gov.au. The draft terms of reference can be found here.