Literary Works and Copyright
Definition
Includes books, journals, reports, computer programs, letters, emails, novels, poetry, song lyrics, timetables, databases, computer software, tables and compilations.
Rights of Copyright Owners
Copyright owners of literary works have control over the rights to do the following in relation to their works:
- reproduce the work in material form;
- publish the work;
- perform the work in public;
- communicate the work to the public;
- make an adaptation of the work and
- do any of these acts in relation to an adaptation of the work.
Duration of Copyright
Copyright in literary, dramatic and musical works published, performed, broadcast or recorded and offered for sale in the author's lifetime lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years from the end of the year of the author's death.
Copyright in literary, dramatic and musical works NOT published, performed, broadcast, recorded and offered for sale during the author's lifetime lasts for 70 years from the end of the year of first publication, performance or broadcast.
Copyright in literary, dramatic and musical works made for, or first published by a government, or in which copyright is owned by a government, lasts for 50 years from the end of the year of first publication.
Copyright in works first published anonymously or under a pseudonym lasts for 70 years from the end of the year of first publication.
See Australian Copyright Council Info Sheet G23 for more information about duration of copyright.
Limits on Copying or Communication
Generally, permission will be needed from the copyright owners before a literary work may be copied or communicated. There are only very limited circumstances under which a literary work may be copied or communicated without permission from the copyright owners.
If you would like to reproduce or communicate a literary work for educational purposes then refer to Guidelines for Using Copyright Material for Educational Purposes.
If you would like to reproduce or communicate the work(s) for the purposes of Study or Research, you need to refer to the Fair Dealing Provisions.
You may also be able to reproduce a literary work that you own for personal use.
If you would like to reproduce or communicate the work(s) for any other reason - commercially, for open access publication, commercial publishing - or you wish to use more than the provisions allow, you will need to seek permission. See Requesting Permission From a Copyright Owner to Reproduce Material for further information.
Abstracts
Abstracts are considered literary works in their own right and therefore are subject to copyright. A limited amount - 10% - of an abstract could be reproduced either under Fair Dealing for Research or Study or the Statutory Licence for Educational Purposes. The provision for copying insubstantial portions cannot be applied to abstracts to cover copying the entire abstract in full. Permission from the copyright owner would be needed to reproduce an abstract in full. If you write your own abstract, it is not necessary to get permission from the copyright owner.
Anthologies
An anthology is a collection of literary, dramatic or musical works, such as poems, short stories or plays. An anthology can be in either print or electronic format.
If copying a work from an anthology for research or study, refer to Fair Dealing.
If copying or communicating a literary or dramatic work from an anthology for educational purposes, the work may be copied in part or in full if it does not exceed 15 pages. You can copy any number of such works within an anthology, up to a maximum total of 10 per cent of the total pages of the anthology. This applies regardless of whether the work is in a print or electronic anthology.
Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
Dictionaries and encyclopedias are compilations. Entries in an encyclopedia are considered individual works and therefore are protected by their own copyright.
If you wish to reproduce an entry from an encyclopedia or a dictionary for educational purposes, then as many entries as needed can be reproduced without permission as the entries are not separately available for purchase. This is permitted under the statutory licence for educational use.
However, if reproducing entries for the purposes of research and study, then both the fair dealing provisions and the copyright guidelines for compilations would need to be considered.
Poems
An individual poem is a complete literary work. If the poem has been published in an anthology, then it is subject to the conditions for reproducing work(s) from an anthology. If the poem has been separately published as a standalone publication then the conditions for reproducing literary works apply.
The purpose, e.g. educational use or research and study, of the reproduction will also determine whether or not the poem can be reproduced. If you wish to copy the poem for the purpose of research and study, refer to fair dealing. If you want to reproduce or communicate a poem for educational purposes, see the Guidelines for Using Copyright Material for Educational Purposes.
Acknowledgements
It is important that the source of the material and the moral rights of the copyright owner are acknowledged and properly attributed.
If the copyright owner is unknown, indicate 'Copyright owner unknown. All reasonable attempts made to identify. If you are the copyright owner or know who they are please advise us'.