Debate rages about proposed changes to Section 92A of the Copyright Act.  Instigated by the previous government, the Act was to come into a force in February but has now been delayed for a month. 

The essence of the changes means that, should an internet subscriber be identified undertaking illegal downloads, then their internet connection will be discontinued.  Strong feelings characterise both sides of the argument, but both sides seem agreed that the theft on intellectual property is totally unacceptable.

Critics of the Act are concerned about the definition of ‘ISP’ and the process of adjudicating when a connection should be terminated.  Supporters of the Act believe that these concerns are unjustified, and the ability to enforce the respect of intellectual property rights must be strengthened.

Our view at Kinetics is that, regardless of this Act and whether or not it comes into force, copyright is important and companies need to ensure their staff respect it.  Over the years we have seen the impact of undisciplined staff downloading and sharing ‘content’.  Years ago, tools like “Napster” were used, today “Bit Torrent” has much the same effect.  Valuable company resources get consumed, resulting in significant disk space use and massive internet bills, and all the while the security of the business network is jeopardised.

We urge our clients to adopt internet usage policies and communicate these with their staff.  Policies should make it clear what is, and isn’t allowed.  And we can help implement tools to enforce these, such as ‘Webmarshal’.  To help define internet policies, we’ve searched the ‘net, and identified the NZ Department of Internal Affairs has published a code of practice for internet use that can be adopted for ‘in-house’ use.  Click here for more