Support for the Productivity Commission's fair use recommendation

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) is a signatory on a letter to the Minister for Communications and the Arts, Senator Mitch Fifield, expressing strong support for the Productivity Commission's recommendation that Australia should introduce a fair use exception into the Copyright Act 1968.
 
The letter is signed by 47 stakeholders who believe a fair use exception is a critical reform to ensure that the Australian economy is best placed for a strong digital future.
 
The benefits that fair use reform would provide for libraries, and other cultural institutions, are significant. The reform would allow them to open up collections and digitise historical works where copyright owners cannot be found. Australians could take advantage of this cultural heritage to use these work in projects from family histories to memes.