During a year where the raid on the Megaupload founder’s mansion became ever more politicized, critics have accused Key of getting over-friendly with Hollywood.

“Prime Minister John Key can have as many dinners with Hollywood executives and copyright lobbyists as he likes,” Dotcom told TorrentFreak in November. “The simple fact is that the NZ government, which has been acting like a subsidiary of the US government, is not above the law.”

However, the studios have a bit of a problem, one which they feel the government – and Key in particular – can help them with.

In 2011 New Zealand introduced the Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Act with the aim of reducing illicit file-sharing by sending out warnings and ultimately punishing copyright infringers. The scheme is being used by RIANZ, the local RIAA equivalent, but Hollywood has boycotted the program claiming that sending notices is prohibitively expensive.

However, according to NZHerald quoting a Green Party briefing, Hollywood have been trying to get a better deal by lobbying Prime Minister Key directly.

The briefing from officials stated that the MPAA is “highly influential in Washington political circles” and “played a key role in shaping US trade policy to suit its particular interests.” Noting the industry’s power to influence policy makers, the briefing added that free-trade agreements now come with an established set of demands including tougher online copyright enforcement and longer copyright terms.

Subsequently and on the understanding that Hollywood were looking to make it easier to chase down file-sharers in New Zealand, Key went to the United States. The precise details of what was discussed there was not revealed, but indications point to making the “three strikes” scheme cheaper so that Hollywood can start sending out notices.

The notices, at NZ $25 (roughly $20 USD) per shot, are too expensive to send in large numbers and should be around NZ $2 each, rightsholders say. The ISPs, on the other hand, say that they costed their systems to handle large amounts and are now out of pocket. They actually want the cost of notices to increase.

The matter was settled in September 2012 when a review said the prices would stay put – for now.

Only time will tell whether Hollywood’s direct courting of John Key will lead to a better deal for the movie industry. If not, the “3 strikes” mechanism might stay unused by Hollywood, giving them no option other than to sue, something the recording industry in New Zealand believes is almost inevitable.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

The media attention led to widespread protests. Most noticeable was ‘Operation Blackout’, where hundreds of thousands ‘blacked out’ their profile images on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, and not without success. The objections eventually caused the government to scrap the law and go back to the drawing board. Not for long though.

Fast forward a few months and the government already has a new and ‘improved’ version of the anti-piracy legislation ready. The new plan no longer includes the ‘guilty upon accusation” section where consumers had little options to appeal a potential disconnection. However, the new text also includes the option for copyright holders to demand $15,000 in damages from repeated copyright infringers.

“I want to stress that account holders will have the opportunity during each of these processes to defend claims by right holders,” Commerce Minister Simon Power said in a comment.

Under the new law, ISPs would no longer be obliged to simply disconnect every user accused of repeatedly downloading copyrighted material, without solid proof. Instead, all account holders can request a hearing at the Copyright Tribunal if they don’t agree with the proposed penalty or the evidence presented against them.

From current reports it is not clear how the copyright holders will collect evidence on alleged copyright infringers. The past has shown that their data gathering techniques are not always the most accurate, to say the least. If this is the case, we can expect to see many appeals once the new proposals become law in the coming year.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.