Federal govt rethinks copyright laws

8 Feb 2012, 6:11 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Telstra has the exclusive online broadcast rights for both AFL and NRL. (File AAP)

Telstra has the exclusive online broadcast rights for both AFL and NRL. (File AAP)

The Australian government will urgently consider changes to copyright laws after the Federal Court's "unexpected" ruling on sports broadcasting rights.

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Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the government will "urgently consider" changes to copyright laws to protect Australia's sporting codes from a challenge to their broadcasting rights.

The Federal Court has ruled Optus did not breach copyright law by broadcasting matches on free-to-air television delayed - by up to two minutes - through its mobile TV Now service.

Other devices which provide similar services can be bought at electronics stores.

Telstra has the exclusive online broadcast rights for both AFL and NRL and its latest online deal with the AFL for the 2012 to 2016 season cost $153 million.

Media analysts have said the ruling makes worthless the multi-million-dollar exclusive broadcast rights, some of which are still being negotiated with the major sports bodies.

Delegates from the AFL, NRL, Cricket Australia, Tennis Australia and lobby group the Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports met with Ms Gillard and other key ministers on Tuesday.

"We have said to them, and I am very happy to say publicly, we will urgently consider options here," Ms Gillard told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.

"I think we are all concerned about what this can mean for our great sporting codes, and it was an unexpected development."

Ms Gillard said the companies had a right to appeal the legal case, but the running of that appeal was up to them.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the government would seek its own legal advice as well as speak to the legal teams involved in the case and Optus.

"We will be going through a process to ensure that if any change needs to be made we would consider any adverse consequences," he said.

Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull, who has been briefed on the issue by the sporting bodies, said any law changes would need to be very specific.

"We have got to be very careful that the amendments are not so broadly worded they have impacts on other activities," he told reporters in Canberra.

He said any "legislative patch" would also need to be reconsidered in the light of the findings of the media convergence review, which is due to report at the end of March.

Labor may need the support of the coalition to get any amendment through parliament, with the Greens raising concerns it could affect consumers.

Greens spokesman Senator Scott Ludlam said the court judgment "appears to be a commonsense reading of the Copyright Act that recognises people should be able to watch content at a time and place of their choosing".

"The government should be on notice that the Greens will not automatically support a hasty whack at the Copyright Act which attempts to turn back the tide," he said.

The government has announced University of Technology Sydney's Dean of Law, Professor Jill McKeough, will head a review into copyright in the digital environment.

An Optus spokeswoman said the independent review was the right approach to deal with copyright laws.

"It is the right approach to ensure a balanced, broad and comprehensive review of the exceptions in the copyright law in the digital era," Optus corporate affairs manager Clare Gill said.

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