Works Protected by Copyright
Original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and other
material.
Literary works:
Includes books (fiction and non-fiction); newspaper and journal articles;
song lyrics; poems; computer programmes; a table or compilation
expressed in words, figures, or symbols; catalogues, etc.
Dramatic works: includes film scripts; mime; choreography.
Musical works: music scores.
Artistic works:
includes paintings; drawings; engravings or photographs; a building
or a model of a building; maps; diagrams; plans; prints; lithographs;
woodcuts, etc. Copyright is provided whether the work is of artistic
quality or not.
Other Material:
Published editions
Works published in Australia after 1 May 1969 have the copyright
in the typesetting and layout of the edition as well as copyright
in the contents.
Cinematographic films
A film is the aggregate of the images and sounds. These may vary
from home videos to major commercial films. Separate copyright
may exist in the music, the screenplay and in other material appearing
in the film, eg artistic works.
Sound recordings
These include records; compact discs; audio tapes; or digitised music.
There may also be copyright in the music and other content material.
Radio and television broadcasts
The image and sound signals that are transmitted are protected by
copyright.
For all of the above items there may be more than one copyright.
For example, a book may have copyright in the text as a literary
work; in the artistic work of illustrations; and in the published
edition.
Duration of Copyright
The Australia-US Free Trade Agreement (AUSTFA) extended copyright
protection for most material, but there is no revival
of copyright for works for which copyright expired before 1 January
2005, under the previous rules.
Anonymous and pseudonymous works:
If published after 1 January 1955, 70 years from the year of first publication.
Literary, dramatic and musical works:
If the work has never been published, performed in public, broadcast
or offered or exposed for sale to the public, copyright continues
indefinitely.
Otherwise, copyright exists for 70 years from the year of the
author’s
death, or for 70 years after the year in which the work was first
made public, if this took place after the author’s death.
Artistic works (other than engravings
or photographs): 70 years
from the creator’s death.
Engravings:
If published during the creator's life and still in copyright on
1 January 2005, 70 years from the creator’s
death.
If published after 1 January 1955 and after
the creator’s death, 70 years from when
it was first published .
Photographs:
If taken before 1955, copyright has expired regardless of whether
the photographer is alive or dead. For photographs taken after
1955, 70 years from the creator's death.
Television and radio broadcasts:
50 years from when first made. Copyright has expired if made before 1 May 1969.
Sound recordings:
70 years from
the year it was first published.
Cinematograph films:
(Other copyrights exist for associated works such as screenplays
and music.)
For films made on or after 1 May 1969, 70 years after the year in
which the film was first published.
For films made prior to 1 May
1969:
if
regarded as a 'dramatic work', life of creator of film or cinematographer
(whichever is longer) plus 70 years; if not regarded as a 'dramatic
work' life of cinematographer, plus 70 years.
Published editions:
Copyright in published editions refers to the publisher's typesetting
or original typography and layout of the publication. Copyright
exists for 25 years after first publication if this occurred after
1 May 1969. There is no copyright in editions published before
this date. However copyright exists for the literary content and
for artistic works included in the edition.
A published edition is one made available to the public whether for
sale or not.
Crown copyright: (material made
or first published by a Commonwealth, State or Territory)
For unpublished literary, dramatic and musical
works, copyright
continues indefinitely.
For published literary, dramatic and musical works, 50 years from
the year of first publication.
For artistic works, other than engravings or photographs, copyright
exists for 50 years after the year it was made..
For engravings and photographs, if made before 1 May 1969, 50 years
from when the material was first made. If made on or after 1 May
1969, 50 years from the year it was first published.
For sound recordings, 50 years from the year it was first published.
Ownership of Copyright
In general for literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the
author owns the copyright. There are some exceptions:
Newspaper, Magazine or Similar Periodical Employees
Ownership rests with the proprietor where the work was made under
the author’s contract of employment, for the publication
or broadcasting of the work. For other purposes the copyright rests
with the author.
Photographs
For photographs taken after 1 May 1969 the photographer owns the
copyright. For photographs taken before that date the person who
owned the material on which the photograph was taken owns the copyright.
Employees
Employers own the copyright to any work made by employees under the
terms of their contract of employment.
Copyright Owners
Copyright owners have exclusive rights as to the use of their material.
Unless the copying to be undertaken is permitted under the terms
of the Copyright Act or by the terms of the University’s
agreements with copyright agencies, then permission to copy must
be sought.
'
Publication' is when the material has been supplied to the
public by sale or otherwise.
Insubstantial Portion
The quality of what is reproduced (ie. the importance of the copied
part/s to the work as a whole) is a major criteria. Publishers
may have their own guidelines as to what they consider insubstantial.
For multiple copies of printed material for educational purposes,
the limit is two pages or 1% whichever is the greater.
Reasonable portion (from print material)
From a separately published work of more than 10 pages, one chapter
or 10%, whichever is the greater, may be copied.
Out-of-Print
Up to a whole work may be copied subject to making an inquiry to
determine if the work is available.
Out-of-Copyright
Up to a whole work may be copied where the underlying copyright has
expired. See the Duration
of Copyright section. Be
careful to check all copyrights with edited works or those containing
commentary, etc.
Moral Rights
Moral rights means:
(a) a right of attribution of authorship; or
(b) a right not to have authorship falsely attributed; or
(c) a right of integrity of authorship.
Only individuals have moral rights.
The moral rights of the author of a work are in addition to any
other rights in relation to the work that the author or anyone
else has
under the Copyright Act.
Communicate
Communicate means to make available online or electronically transmit
(whether over a path, or a combination of paths, provided by a material
substance or otherwise) a work or other subject-matter.
