Australian IT Pricing Committee recommends region locks and geo-blocks banned

The Australian Government has today handed down its final report from the Parliamentary Committee that was investigating IT Pricing.

The report is a massive 146 pages, you can download it here if you wish. The Committee have a number of recommendations that not only affect IT pricing but also the available of software, games and all things IT.

One recommendation is the possibility of a ban on geo-blocking, that’s the restriction of being able to purchase something based on your location. In the mean time they also recommend consumers be educated on ways to get around this technology.  The fifth recommendation is probably the one you’re most interested in, it states;

[quote]The Committee recommends that the Australian Government amend the Copyright Act’s section 10(1) anti-circumvention provisions to clarify and secure consumers’ rights to circumvent technological protection measures that control geographic market segmentation.[/quote]

In other words, the committee has recommended that the law be changed to remove region locks of all kinds. Don’t get too excited just yet though, all of these are just recommendations handed down by the committee. It will take more time for any of them to be taking onboard and enacted.

Below are all of the recommendations handed down by the committee.

1. The Committee recommends that the ABS develop a comprehensive program to monitor and report expenditure on IT products, hardware and software, both domestically and overseas, as well as the size and volume of the online retail market.
2. Considering the importance of IT products to education, and in the interests of greater transparency in this area, the Committee recommends that the Australian Government, in consultation with Universities Australia and CAUDIT, conduct a comprehensive study of the future IT needs of and costs faced by Australian Universities, in order to provide clearer financial parameters for negotiations.
3. The Committee recommends that the Australian Government consider a whole-of-government accessible IT procurement policy, to be developed by relevant agencies including AGIMO, and in consultation with relevant stakeholder groups including ACCAN.
4. The Committee recommends that the parallel importation restrictions still found in the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) be lifted, and that the parallel importation defence in the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) be reviewed and broadened to ensure it is effective in allowing the importation of genuine goods.
5. The Committee recommends that the Australian Government amend the Copyright Act’s section 10(1) anti-circumvention provisions to clarify and secure consumers’ rights to circumvent technological protection measures that control geographic market segmentation.
6. The Committee further recommends that the Australian Government investigate options to educate Australian consumers and businesses as to:
   • the extent to which they may circumvent geoblocking mechanisms in order to access cheaper legitimate goods;
   • the tools and techniques which they may use to do so; and
   • the way in which their rights under the Australian Consumer Law may be affected should they choose to do so.
7. The Committee recommends that the Australian Government, in conjunction with relevant agencies, consider the creation of a ‘right of resale’ in relation to digitally distributed content, and clarification of ‘fair use’ rights for consumers, businesses, and educational institutions, including restrictions on vendors’ ability to ‘lock’ digital content into a particular ecosystem.
8. The Committee recommends the repeal of section 51(3) of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
9. The Committee recommends that the Australian Government consider enacting a ban on geoblocking as an option of last resort, should persistent market failure exist in spite of the changes to the Competition and Consumer Act and the Copyright Act recommended in this report.
10. That the Australian Government investigate the feasibility of amending the Competition and Consumer Act so that contracts or terms of service which seek to enforce geoblocking are considered void.