An Essay on the Eligibility of Business Methods for Australian Patent Protection
David J Brennan

Abstract
This essay discusses the characterisation in Australian patent law of business methods (which generally involve information technology) as 'manners of new manufacture'. It will examine whether this characterisation is consistent with the historical scope of the 'manner of new manufacture' concept, and whether it is desirable as a matter of economic policy.

Software Forensics: Extending Authorship Analysis Techniques to Computer Programs
Stephen G. MacDonell Donna Buckingham Andrew R. Gray Philip J. Sallis

Abstract
Software forensics is the analysis of the syntactic, structural and semantic form of software in order to identify, characterise and discriminate between the authors of software products for some legal purpose. Determining software authorship may be important in several contexts: civil litigation involving allegations of software theft or plagiarism or apportioning liability for software failure; criminal litigation in relation to computer fraud or software attacks on computer systems using viruses and other similar means. Our focus is on forensic analysis of software source code, the structured English-like implementation of the algorithm selected to undertake the task at hand. We use a fictionalised version of a recent case to illustrate the potential of software forensics to provide evidence and also review in detail the judicial reception of such material.

 

Monitoring Employees' Email and Internet Use at Work - Balancing the Interests of Employers and Employees
Karen Wheelwright

Abstract
The increased use of email and the internet in the workplace raises important legal questions for workers and employers. The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the legal implications of use by employees of workplace email and internet systems, with particular focus on employer monitoring of the use of email and internet and its implications for employee privacy.

 

Downloading Music off the Internet:
Copyright and Privacy in Conflict?
Megan Richardson

Abstract
Since the development of cheap and simple tape recording technology in the seventies and eighties of the last century, copyright law has struggled to reach a balance between persons wishing to tape copyright material for their own personal use and owners of the copyright material who claim that this is breach of copyright. With the development of peer-to-peer copying on the internet, which allows for the downloading of perfect copies, the issue has become more urgent and more complex. The article follows developments in the battle by music companies in particular to prevent private copying of their copyright material from the internet and the threats to privacy which have resulted. Recently, the companies have targeted individuals who have been involved in frequent copying and sued them for breach of copyright with the aim of publicising the breach of copyright involved in such copying and to deter others. They have hoped that through successful court actions they may be able to convince the public that private copying off the internet is a serious breach of their rights. Two threats to privacy have resulted from the companies' actions. First, they have subpoenaed internet service providers to release information about customers who have used the internet to breach copyright. Secondly, they have sought to publicise cases against those whom they have sued as serious violators in order to shame them and to make the case against private copying. The article discusses the moral and legal arguments for and against these threats to privacy, concluding that compelling internet service providers to provide evidence about the activities of their customers does not infringe privacy rights to a disquieting extent but that using evidence gained by such methods to name and shame offenders may be a misuse of the discovery process.

 

NOTE
P2P Technology on Trial Again: the Grokster and StreamCast Cases
Catherine Lee

Abstract
Most internet users have probably heard of the terms 'MP3', 'peer-to-peer', 'Napster' and 'Kazaa'. Together these concepts allowed internet users to download high quality files of their favourite songs or movies free of charge. They also provided a nightmare for the music and movie industries as such behaviour deprives them of millions of dollars from CD and video sales. But the entertainment industry has not taken these technological developments lying down - they have launched numerous copyright infringement actions against the networks who enable users to share copyright material with others.
This article will explain the legal ramifications of adopting different infrastructures for file sharing systems as appeared in the latest legal battle in the United States between the entertainment industry and file sharing programs. It will commence by describing the Napster system, the pioneer of peer-to-peer networks, and then analyse the recent decision in the litigation between the entertainment industry and the Grokster and StreamCast networks. Finally, it will discuss how the case might have been decided if it were heard in Australia.