Some frequently asked questions and answers relating to Internet copyright, the role of Actrix in monitoring this, and customer information are included below.

1. How will this affect me?
2. What is covered by the law?
3. Who is held liable for copyright infringements?
4. Who is an account holder?
5. What if Im not aware of the infringement taking place?
6. What role does Actrix play in this?
7. Will Actrix be monitoring what I do online?
8. Can copyright owners access my personal details?
9. What can I do to prevent copyright infringement?
10. How do I secure my wireless network?
11. How will infringement notices be sent?
12. What do I do if I receive an infringement notice?
13. Can I challenge an infringement notice?
14. What happens if I dont respond to an infringement notice?
15. Do I need to pay for infringement notices?
16. Can my Internet connection be disconnected?
17. Where can I find more information?

If you have any more questions or suggestions please feel free to get in touch via support@actrix.co.nz, or call 0800 ACTRIX (228-749) between 8am - 11pm seven days.

1. How will this affect me?
On 1st September 2011 changes to the Copyright Act came into effect, sections 122a-122R of this Act include new enforcement measures against the unauthorised sharing of copyright material via the internet. The revised Act requires Actrix as an Internet Protocol Address Provider (IPAP) to pass on copyright infringement detection notices from rights owners to account holders.

2. What is covered by the law?
The Act applies to the illegal transfer of any copyrighted materials via file sharing applications or networks using internet connections, however the Act is not specific to any particular application or protocol (such as BitTorrent) and covers both downloading and uploading.

3. Who is held liable for copyright infringements?
The Internet account holder is held responsible for any copyright infringement that takes place using an Internet connection associated with their account, regardless of whether he or she was involved in downloading or uploading an infringing file.

4. Who is an account holder?
The account holder is the person(s) or organisation recorded by an ISP as the owner of a particular account, essentially the name(s) on the Internet invoices.

5. What if Im not aware of the infringement taking place?
The account holder is responsible regardless of whether he or she was involved in downloading or uploading an infringing file, however the account holder may challenge a notice, or an infringement included in a notice, for any reason. For more information on infringement notice challenges, click here.
 
6. What role does Actrix play in this?
Copyright owners will send details of an alleged infringement to the relevant Internet Service Provider who will:

• Receive and check notices from copyright owners
• Match the IP address allegedly involved in the copyright infringement to an account
• Send the account holder the appropriate infringement notice and information
• If the account holder challenges the notice, receive that challenge and forward it to the copyright owner
• If the copyright owner rejects a challenge, receive the rejection and the reasons for the rejection and pass it on to the account holder
• If the copyright owner accepts the account holders challenge, remove the infringement notice from its records
• On the order of the Copyright Tribunal, provide the Tribunal with the account holders name and contact details as well as copies of the first 2 notices and any evidence required
• Follow instructions of the Courts
• Hold information and records as specified by the law
• Annually publish a compliance report online

7. Will Actrix be monitoring what I do online?
No. The new law doesnt require ISPs to monitor customers usage, its up to the copyright owners to detect infringements and notify the relevant ISP.

8. Can copyright owners access my personal details?
No. Actrix will only provide the account holders name and contact details to the Copyright Tribunal if specifically directed to by the Tribunal. Customer information will not be provided to copyright owners.

9. What can I do to prevent copyright infringement?
The most important step is to educate anyone who has access to your Internet connection about copyright, illegal file sharing, and the potential consequences. If you have a wireless router / modem it is also strongly advised that you secure your wireless network to prevent unauthorised access (see below for further information).

10. How do I secure my wireless network?
If you have a wireless network, you should set up a network security key, which turns on encryption. With encryption, people can't connect to your network without the security key. Also, any information that's sent across your network is encrypted so that only computers that have the key to decrypt the information can read it. This can help avert attempts to access your network and files without your permission. Wi‑Fi Protected Access (WPA or WPA2) is the recommended wireless network encryption method.

Instructions on how to setup secure wireless connections for many modems sold by Actrix can be found here.

For more information on wireless security take a look at http://www.wi-fi.org/security/.

11. How will infringement notices be sent?
Infringement notices will be sent by the same method as your Actrix statements (i.e. E-mail or post).

12. What do I do if I receive an infringement notice?
First you need to decide if you want to challenge the allegation or not. If you decide to challenge the allegation you need to do so by following the instructions included with the infringement notice, and this challenge must be received by your ISP within 14 days of the date of the notice that the challenge relates to. If you dont want to challenge the notice you need to be aware of the potential consequences of further infringement notices but you do not need to take any action.

13. Can I challenge an infringement notice?
Yes, as above if you decide to challenge the allegation you need to do so by following the instructions included with the infringement notice, and this challenge must be received by your ISP within 14 days of the date of the notice that the challenge relates to.

14. What happens if I dont respond to an infringement notice?
You are not required to respond to an infringement notice, however if you do not challenge a notice it will be considered as a valid infringement.

15. Do I need to pay for infringement notices?
No. The copyright owner making an allegation of copyright infringement under the new law pays Actrix a fee per infringement notice sent. They also pay another fee if they decide to make a claim to the Copyright Tribunal. Only the Copyright Tribunal can order an account holder to pay a penalty to the copyright owner.

16. Can my Internet connection be disconnected?
The law potentially allows a District Court to order suspension of an Internet account for up to 6 months, however this penalty is currently not in force.

17. Where can I find more information?
For more information please take a look at the following resources:

Ministry of Economic Development (MED)
http://www.med.govt.nz/templates/StandardSummary____46206.aspx

Telecommunications Carriers Forum (TCF)
http://www.tcf.org.nz/content/d543212c-ab29-42dc-8fa5-de14710785f6.html

InternetNZ
http://3strikes.net.nz/
http://internetnz.net.nz/