Kim Weatherall notes that in the recent “Free Trade” Agreement between the U.S. and Australia, the Aussies agreed to implement a DMCA-like law, and to extend their term of copyright. Needless to say, these are both bad ideas. Kim offers a long post recounting the history of this issue in Australia.
I only wonder what the U.S. negotiators had to give up, or what other Australian concession they had to forgo, in order to cement these unfortunate provisions.
Wasn’t the DMCA itself passed to implement an international agreement, the WIPO copyright treaty? In a way, the DMCA was “imported” to the U.S.