Australian pirates outraged over leaked TPP proposal!

Australia leads the world in piracy as we know. I think we wear the crown proudly. Most likely inspired by distance and the most horrifyingly inconvenient timezone, never the less we have become the biggest ever pirate down loaders in the world. *trumpets sound*

To solidify this new found proudness, I notice that there's even an Australian Pirate Party. Check it out :)  

So imagine our horror now, as we learn that if the TPP goes through in it's present (leaked) form, it will criminalise people like me (ie. pensioners) downloading The Walking Dead for free to watch at home. What? Outrageous! No fuckin way man!

Overnight, Wikileaks published a leaked draft of the intellectual property chapter of the TPP. It reveals, among a number of other moves to tighten countries’ IP regulations, that those caught conducting copyright infringement activities online (‘Internet piracy’) could face criminal charges. 

The leak caused instant outrage in Australia, with a wide range of groups active in digital rights issues raising an outcry regarding the stipulations of the trade agreement. 

“CHOICE is deeply concerned at a proposal from the United States to expand criminal liability for copyright infringement. This would mean that domestic non-commercial infringement could become a criminal act,” said Alan Kirkland, chief executive of consumer advocacy group CHOICE, in a statement issued this morning. “While CHOICE condemns copyright infringement, we certainly don’t agree that an individual downloading Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones for personal use should be open to criminal prosecution.” more

Hah, take that evil corporations! We found out about your dastardly plot to suck money out of innocent pensioners!  What do they want, every last fuckin cent?