I like watching things grow. My Bonsai plants are the ultimate home nurserypersons test of patience, skill and attention to detail. Bonsai plants are akin to swing voters, let the roots dry out once, and they die, soil too acidic, they wither, soil too alkaline, they wilt. Not enough fertilizer? They turn yellow and drop their leaves.

Some Bonsai fanciers like to buy a mature stock plant and start with some substance; just like the Labour, Liberal and National parties.

Other enthusiasts prefer to start with something younger, greener, so they can form the shape early on before the wood hardens and requires drastic measures to shape it appropriately – obviously that would be the Greens.

Me, I’m the ultimate masochist. I like to start with the seed. So that at the very early seedling stages I can ensure the tap root, the most important part of the tree, goes the right way (actually gets chopped off). It’s the only really correct way to grow a Bonsai.

Tonight at eight PM Australian Eastern Summer time, voters commenced the ballot for the office holders of the Australian Pirate Party.

I joined in the conference call and traded words with these keen and enthusiastic young men.

Full of ideas for creating a fairer intellectual property and copyright environment for Australia, what these chaps lacked in knowledge and howto was more than made up for in their enthusiasm and belief that they were doing the right thing.

The Pirate Party isn’t yet a registered political party in Australia but in less than nine months, the organisation has grown from an idea to now over 1100 members. With the majority of the growth occurring in the last four weeks.

If they continue the current rate of growth, I see a large representative contingent for the Pirate Party on the next Federal Election Ballots.

Some media have attempted to dismiss these young men and have by implication (jokes about preferences being given to the shop-lifting party), tried to demean their integrity and honest attempts at creating a fairer intellectual property and copyright environment for the educational and innovative economical advancement of Australia.

What do these guys stand for? Piracy? And here I am forced to yet again refer to the Jay Leno show skit…..

This whole pirate situation is getting out of control, right? Just

can't stop thinking about it. Two more attacks yesterday. I mean, I

don't understand how it works. Apparently, they pull up to the ship,

they fire some shots, scare everyone off, then they climb up the

side, then I guess they copy and distribute DVD's. Is that what they do?

                                                                                    Jimmy Fallon

So obviously one of the first things for the Pirate Party to do is to dispel any fears, that a vote for the Pirate Party, equals anarchy, looting and mayhem or any stealing of anything at all.

Because of course contrary to the highly paid for and excellent PR of the copyright organisations, they would have you believe that little Johnny is breaking the law when he copies music off his sisters iPod. He isn’t. But someone has to stand up for little Johnny and explain his rights to the people of Australia whom have been lied too for a long time.

Their success depends of course on their PR capabilities.

Some of the tough questions to which even most lawyers are unable to give a direct answer too (which no doubt the Pirate Party will be attempting to publicize, are):

• Can I copy my music onto my sisters’ iPod?
• Can I borrow my neighbours Hot August LP and listen to it on my Stereo?
• If I hired a really good movie from Blockbuster, am I breaking the law by letting my next door neighbour borrow it?
• What about if he and I go half/half in renting it?
• If a show was on Channel 7 last week and my PVR failed to record all of it because channel seven started the show five minutes late – can I download it from the internet legally?
• May I make a back-up copy of my DVD?
• What is the difference between time shifting and device shifting?
• When am I allowed to do either or both?

Think you know the answer to these and other daily copyright issues that affect all of our lives?

Don’t bet on it citizen. I asked a leading Intellectual Property attorney these questions on Tuesday and he got over fifty percent of them wrong.

So the Pirate Party in the first instance will have to raise these issues with every Australian. Only then can a truly informed public respond sensibly at the polls on what it would appear is the most important issue in the world.

What is copyrighted, what is not copyrighted and what are your rights and responsibilities under the copyright law in your country.

Whilst I think the Australian Labour Party is addressing some of the issues in a responsive and intelligent manner and I don’t think the lads have a hope in hell in getting more than one or two horses past the post for the next round of elections, but, as they say in Oz, “It’ll keep the bastards honest……” (And here I'm referring to the industry Associations that just love misleading the public, journalists and politicians.)

So if something above tugged a responsive cord, it’s not too late to vote if you register here for membership and look over the candidates.

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