Obsolete New Zealand copyright law faces total rewrite

Having a copyright law that was drafted before the Internet Age has proven too problematic for New Zealand, and after trying a number of incremental updates, the government is considering a total rewrite.

Prime Minister John Key took office in November, and his center-right National Party ended a nine-year Labor Party incumbency. Controversy arose shortly thereafter as The Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008, which was passed before Key's election, came into force. A clause in the act allowed ISPs to terminate a user's account based upon suspected illegal file sharing, similar to theThree Strikes Rule being drafted in France at the same time.

Because an agreement could not be reached in the month's time allotted for discussion, the provision was stricken down, and Commerce and Justice minister Simon Power was to begin work on a replacement section.

Now, however, the government has frozen all changes, and is considering a total rewrite of the copyright law, instead of just an adjustment of section 92a.