Information Services@ANU
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Information Services@ANU
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Copyright - Overview and LegislationQuestions about copyright ownership and rights.
What is copyright?Copyright is a protection of a person's expression of a creative skill or idea. The idea itself is not protected, rather the form in which it is expressed. For example, a musical composition, a book, a drawing, a photograph. What law governs copyright law in Australia?Copyright exists in works and other subject matter by virtue of the Copyright Act 1968 and decisions of courts. What does copyright protect?Material protected by copyright is divided into two broad categories of subject matter: works and subject matter other than works. Copyright protection of works protects written material, artistic works, musical works, dramatic works, computer programs, compilations (these include anthologies, directories and databases). Copyright protection of subject matter other than works protects sound recording, cinematographic films, television and sound broadcasts and published editions of works. There are many other categories that are protected by copyright - more detailed information can be obtained through the Australian Copyright Council. How long does copyright last?Following is a list of categories of material and duration of copyright protection. Generally speaking, copyright lasts for life of the author, or creator, plus 70 years from the year in which the author or creator died.
What happens to material once the copyright has expired?Material that is out of copyright is usually in the public domain. However, other copyright issues may apply, for example, if an out of copyright work has been published, there may be a new copyright period for the published version of that work. Are statutes and reports of judgement protected by copyright?Yes. The AVCC is in the process of seeking permissions from federal and state governments to copy their publications. Permission has already been obtained from the High Court and the conditions under which that material may be copied are transcribed below. It is important to note that a permission from the relevant court or government to copy judgements does not extend to headnotes, commentary etc. which may be included in a commercially published law report. High Court policy on copying its material: "The High Court of Australia claims copyright in all its decisions, as the author of those decisions. (There is some legal debate on this, and some experts believe that, as Justices are servants of the Crown, copyright rests with the Crown. It is an argument that has not yet been tested.) It has been, and remains, the policy of the High Court to permit free and unlimited reproductions of its decisions, or extracts of its decisions, subject to three conditions:
In so far as High Court judgements appear in published law reports, (e.g. the CLRs), the publishers claim copyright over such things as the pagination, headnotes and sidenotes, etc. - all the added material put into the published version. However, copyright in the actual text of the decision itself remains with the High Court, and this may be reproduced freely." How is copyright infringed?An infringement of copyright occurs where an act comprised in the copyright is done in relation to a 'substantial part' of a work or other subject matter. Therefore, if you reproduce an image, sound or video in a presentation, copy material produced by another person, use copyrighted text in a document, or make an extra copy of a computer program, without obtaining permission from the copyright owner, you may be infringing copyright. Copyright may also be infringed where you communicate a work without permission. The exclusive nature of copyright enables the owner to take legal action to prevent others from exercising any of these rights and to be awarded damages in the event that an infringement occurs. Infringement can also incur criminal penalties against an individual and or an institution. How does the University pay for copyright?The University has signed a three year agreement with the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) to pay for material copied and communicated under the sampling system available under the Copyright Act (more detail on this agreement can be found in the section on Print and Digital Copying. In addition, the University has an agreement with Screenrights which requires that all audio-visual copying and communication done for educational purposes is recorded. Screenrights then issues the University with an invoice for this copying each quarter (more detail on this agreement can be found in the section on Audio-Visual (Off-air) Copying. The area that does the copying and communication meets payments for audio-visual copying and communication while payments under the agreement with CAL are currently met centrally. The University also has an agreement with CAL to cover copying for continuing education students. The fee paid for this copying is based on the amount paid by students for admission to continuing education courses run by the University. This fee is currently paid centrally. Under the agreements, the University has an obligation to copy and communicate within prescribed limits. Where use of copyright material is required beyond the limits required under the agreements, areas should negotiate an individual agreement with the copyright owner. Costs for these agreements will need to be met by the areas involved. When did the Digital Amendments begin operating?The Digital Agenda amendments to the Copyright Act came into force on 4 March 2001. What changes were made to the educational statutory licences?Some of the most significant changes introduced by the Digital Agenda Amendments are:
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