ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 explores whether the use of streaming constitutes copyright infringement. Two fundamental rights are examined in this analysis: (i) the right of reproduction and (ii) the right of communication to the public. The first part examines how digital content used in streaming qualifies for copyright protection in Australia. It analyses the liability for copyright infringement, moving in different directions, such as from direct liability to indirect liability. When an end-user accesses digital content through streaming, the end-user’s device used for streaming generally stores fragments of the digital content in the buffer. The second part of the chapter analyses whether these fragments of video or audio files in the buffer constitute a copyright infringement by infringing the copyright owner’s right of reproduction. When an end-user uses peer-to-peer networks or similar internet-based platforms to distribute digital content to others through streaming, this process raises the question of whether the acts constitute copyright infringement by violating the copyright owner’s right of communication to the public. The chapter also explores whether end-users can be held liable for using peer-to-peer streaming to distribute digital content.
