You’ll be happy to know that free streaming is not illegal in Australia. While any form of copyright infringement is considered an offence, there are certain loopholes that can be used if prosecuted under the Copyright Act 1968. For instance, the defendant will not be held responsible if they had no idea, they were breaking the law. Ignorance of the law, on the other hand, is not a valid legal excuse. Many people are now becoming more familiar with how to access free streaming as knowledge and technology advances.
Legal policies surrounding streaming in Australia
Primary offences necessitate an intent to infringe copyright, whereas secondary actions do not necessitate any intent because the act itself infringes copyright even if the user had no intent to do so.
A primary offence would be illegally downloading music, which entails copying the song/movie for personal use without permission from the owner. Converting rented DVDs into digital copies, on the other hand, is a secondary infringement because it prevents the video store from selling those products.
Read more: 7 Best Historical TV Shows to stream on Netflix in the UK
The law specifies a number of factors that should be considered when determining whether or not the infringement is serious enough to warrant criminal charges against the accused. Moreover, factors play a role in determining whether it is fair use for personal purposes and within reasonable limits. Before suing someone for copyright infringement, the owner must prove ownership of the content, which determines whether or not the claimant has any right to sue on that material.
If this cannot be done, then the claimant may withdraw his/her claim against you entirely. To determine if something can be used as evidence in court, there are three questions that need to be asked:
1. Is it original?
2. Is it part of an ongoing series?
3. What is its historical significance?
Free streaming services in Australia
With its abundance of online content, the internet has opened up a whole new world for users both young and old. Instead of watching whatever TV show is on tonight on traditional broadcast channels, people can now stream whatever they want on their laptops, TVs, or even phones using free services such as ABC iView, Channel 7’s Plus7, and Channel 9’s third-party catch-up service, 9Jumpin. These services make it simple to access content that would otherwise be restricted on traditional broadcast television.
In the last decade, as digital technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, so have our viewing habits. This can lead to issues with piracy of copyrighted content being illegally downloaded or streamed online.
So, are these free streaming services legal? To answer that question, it is necessary to examine each service separately. See below for more information on what these free streaming services do:
- ABC iView
- Channel 7 Plus7
- Channel 9
Although you have access to a variety of streaming services in Australia, both premium and free, you might run into regional issues sometimes. This is where an Australia VPN comes to the rescue. You can easily access blocked websites in Australia with a streaming VPN on your device and even use primary streaming services while traveling outside Australia.
Can one access premium movie streaming services in Australia?
The Federal Government of Australia is currently reforming movie streaming laws in Australia, with proposed amendments to Australia’s Copyright Act of 1968. If passed into law, some forms of movie streaming will be legalized, and illegal acts such as downloading a stream without permission will be less severe.
The main goal of this reform is to make it easier for consumers and media companies to access entertainment content online without violating copyright laws. Previous reform attempts have yielded little progress; however, this amendment hopes to change that.
As Australia attempts to catch up to other modern countries that have already made streaming legal, here are some key points to understand about what this means for Australian media companies and consumers.
Legalizing movie streaming will make it easier to access international films released in theatres while also allowing for cheaper downloads over time because they won’t need to be manufactured millions of times; instead, they will be able to be downloaded once by the consumer who will then have the rights to watch the film as many times as they want.
The proposed Copyright Amendment Bill would allow for the streaming of recent films after they are released in theatres, which would benefit both media companies and consumers. Isn’t that a win-win situation?
Media companies will benefit from online movie streaming because it allows them to generate revenue while also reducing piracy. This makes it more difficult, but not impossible, to download free movies from sites like YouTube; however, it prevents more money from being lost through illegal downloads.
