Overview of Copyright
- What is Copyright?
- What does Copyright Protect?
- How long does Copyright last?
- Who owns Copyright?
- What are the Legal Rights of Copyright Owners?
- What and how much can I copy?
- When can I use Copyright Material without Permission?
- How do I register Copyright Material?
- What is Copyright Infringement?
- More Information
What is Copyright?
Copyright is the term used to describe the rights given by law to the creator or author of a work to protect that work against unauthorised use such as publishing or reproducing the work without the permission of the copyright owner. Copyright protects not only the intellectual property in the work, i.e. the product of a person's imagination and creativity but also the copyright owner's right to control how their work is used and to derive an income from it. Copyright law is contained in the Copyright Act 1968.
The Copyright Act aims to not only protect the rights of copyright owners but also to allow the community to make reasonable use of copyright material.
Third Party Copyright
The term 'third party copyright material' refers to copyright material to which another person/entity holds the rights, that is, material for which neither you nor the University are the copyright owner. Permission is required to use 'third party copyright material' unless the use is covered by an exception such as educational purposes, fair dealing, or personal use.
What does Copyright Protect?
Copyright protects all works that are 'original' and written down or recorded in a material form, including both print and electronic material. Copyright applies automatically as soon as something is written down or recorded in material form. It does not have to be registered, although it is good practice to use the copyright symbol (c), your name and the year of first publication, e.g. (c) Fred Jones 2007.
The Copyright Act divides material into four categories of works and four categories of subject matters other than works. The four categories of works are:
- Literary Works including books, journal articles, short stories, poems, manuals, lyrics to songs, a table or compilation expressed in words, figures, symbols, computer programs, newspaper articles, reports, sets of instructions, any practical or information lists.
- Artistic Works including paintings, sculptures, drawings (including diagrams, maps, charts and plans, dress patterns), cartoons, engravings (including etchings, lithographs, products of photogravure, woodcut prints or similar works), photographs, buildings or models of buildings, works of artistic craftsmanship (ceramics etc).
- Dramatic Works including plays, television, radio and film scripts, scenarios and other works intended to be performed such as choreographic notations, even where the work does not include spoken words e.g. mime, dance.
- Musical Works - written or notated music including musical scores for opera, operetta, orchestral, ensemble, band and other musical performances as well as music for songs, jingles and incidental music. Recorded music is treated as Sound Recordings and protected separately, although the underlying musical work is still copyrighted.
The four categories of subject matter other than works are:
- Films including documentaries, feature and animated films, TV programs (including commercials), video tapes and cassettes and other fixed or recorded sequences of visual images. The visual images and film are protected separately to any copyright in works recorded on the film or video such as scripts and music.
- Sound Recordings including vinyl records, compact discs, audiotapes and cassettes, reel to reel tapes, cartridges and other fixed or recorded sounds. Sound Recordings include both recorded music as well as recorded words and sounds.
- Broadcasts of television and radio programs. This is separate to the copyright in the films, music and other material which is transmitted.
- Published Editions of a literary, dramatic or musical work where copyright has expired and therefore is in the public domain, e.g. a play by Shakespeare, or a concerto by Mozart. Copyright applies to the published edition but only protects the typographical arrangement and layout.
Copyright protects both print and electronic material, such as websites and emails. There is no separate category for electronic material, it is protected under one of the categories above depending on the content. For more information see: Internet/Web Publishing. The code in computer programs is protected as a literary work, as are software manuals. For more information see: Computer Software, Software Manuals and Computer Games
More than one copyright may exist in a single article or item. For example a television documentary may contain copyright in the broadcast, scripts, music, extracts from films, artistic works and so on.
Copyright also applies to unpublished material.
Copyright applies to works published in Australia or created by Australian citizens. Australia is also party to several international treaties that protect Australian works internationally. This also means that works copyrighted in other countries are subject to Australian copyright law. More information about Australian treaty agreements can be found in the Australian Copyright Council's InfoSheet G030 Copyright Protection in Other Countries.
How Long Does Copyright Last?
The duration of copyright varies depending on the type of material. Generally, copyright lasts the life of the author or creator, plus 70 years after their death. In some material, copyright lasts for 70 years after first publication. For more details see:
- Artistic Works
- Dramatic Works
- Literary Works
- Musical Works
- Films & Broadcasts
- Sound Recordings
- Published Editions
- Government Publications
- Unpublished works
Copyright cannot be renewed and once it has expired the work is considered to be in the public domain and can be used without the copyright owner's permission.
Who Owns Copyright?
The first owner of the copyright, in most cases, is the author or maker of the copyright material. There may be more than one copyright owner, for example co-authored books or journal articles. There may also be more than one copyright owner depending on the type of work, e.g. films, where the soundtrack, screenplay and the film all have separate copyrights.
Copyright ownership is different to physical ownership of a work. Just because you physically own an item does not mean that you will own the copyright in the item. This is particularly important for original artworks and photographs. Unless, you made an agreement with the artist, or creator of the work, for the transfer of copyright ownership, you will not own copyright. The artist will still have the right to reproduce, publish or communicate the art work that you own. There are also special provisions for photographs.
If the work was created as part of a person's employment then copyright is generally owned by the employer, e.g. copyright in material created by professional staff at the University of Melbourne is owned by the University of Melbourne. Academic staff own copyright in any scholarly works that they create but the University owns copyright in any teaching material created by academic staff.
If a work is commissioned then an agreement between the creator and the person commissioning the work will determine who is the copyright owner. If there is no agreement, then the creator is the copyright owner.
At any time, a copyright owner may choose to assign their copyright to another party. Copyright can also be licensed. A licence permits a person to use the material for certain purposes for a certain period. For more information see: Australian Copyright Council's InfoSheet G024 Assigning & Licensing Rights.
When a copyright owner dies, copyright ownership will generally pass to their estate.
What Are the Legal Rights Of Copyright Owners?
Copyright owners have the exclusive right to do certain things with their material. These rights include:
- reproducing the work: including photocopying, copying by hand, filming, recording and scanning;
- making the work public for the first time, e.g. publishing it;
- communicating the work, e.g. making it available on the web, emailing or faxing it;
- performing the work in public;
- making an adaptation of the work, such as a translation or an arrangement;
- broadcasting the work, or transmiting to subscribers.
This means that anyone who wants to use copyright material in any of these ways needs the copyright owner's permission. However there are provisions in the Copyright Act that allow copyright material to be used for certain purposes without needing to seek the copyright owner's permission.
For more information about seeking permission, see Requesting Permission From a Copyright Owner to Reproduce Material.
What and How Much Can I Copy?
What and how much you can copy depends on the type of material you wish to use as well as what you intend to do with it.
If you are using material for teaching or educational purposes, see Guidelines for Using Copyright Material for Educational Purposes to find out what you are allowed to reproduce and how much.
If you wish to copy material as part of your research & study, see Fair Dealing for the limits on what and how much you can reproduce. Fair Dealing also covers using material for criticism & review and parody & satire.
If you are reproducing material to assist people with disabilities, see Guidelines for Assisting People with Disabilities.
If you are only wish to copy or use a small portion of a work, see Insubstantial Portions.
How do I register Copyright Material?
Copyright protection is automatic in Australia for published and unpublished works. There is no need to register copyright. International treaties such as the Berne Convention ensure that most foreign copyright works are protected in Australia under Australian copyright legislation and Australian copyright owners are protected in most other countries under the equivalent law of that country.
It is not a legal requirement to use the © symbol but it is recommended practice, as its presence reminds users that the owner has certain rights over the work. The name of the copyright owner and date of publication should also be indicated (e.g. Joanna Brown, 2007).
However, if you are placing third party copyright material online for educational purposes, e.g. on the LMS then this must be registered with the Copyright Office. See Guidelines for Using Copyright Material for Educational Purposes for information about using electronic material for teaching purposes and see Register Copyright Material to register material.
When Can I Use Copyright Material Without Permission?
You are entitled under the Copyright Act to use copyright material for certain purposes without needing to seek permission from the copyright owner and without infringing copyright. You do not need to ask for permission if:
- You own the copyright for the work.
- The University of Melbourne owns the copyright and you wish to use the material for University of Melbourne teaching purposes or business.
- Copyright in the work has expired.
- You are copying or communicating an insubstantial portion.
- You have an express licence to use the work, e.g. a contract, web site conditions, copyright owner has explicitly waived copyright, etc.
- Your proposed use is a fair dealing and you observe the limits and rules under the fair dealing provisions .
- You are copying or performing recorded music for educational purposes as covered by the Music Licence.
- You are using material for educational purposes as described in the educational use provisions and you observe the limits & conditions.
- You wish to reproduce the material for personal use and you observe the limits and rules under the personal use provisions.
If you wish to use the material outside the conditions of the exceptions, e.g. if you want to use more than is permitted under fair dealing or the statutory licences, you must seek permission to use copyright material, see Requesting Permission From a Copyright Owner to Reproduce Material.
If you wish to use the material for any other use you must seek permission to use copyright material, see Requesting Permission From a Copyright Owner to Reproduce Material.
What is Copyright Infringement?
If you use copyright material in a way that is covered under the exclusive rights of the copyright owner without permission or in a way that is not covered by one of the exceptions outlined above then you have infringed copyright. It is an offence under Australian law to infringe copyright and penalties may apply.
It is also an infringement to authorise someone else to infringe copyright.
You may also be liable for using infringing material, e.g. an illegally downloaded film or song, even if you did not create the infringing work. The exceptions in the Copyright Act such as educational purposes, fair dealing and personal use only apply to legal copies of copyright material.
The University of Melbourne requires that all staff and students are aware of their responsibilities relating to copyright and to ensure that they do not infringe copyright. The University takes any breach or infringement of the Copyright Act seriously and disciplinary action may be taken against any staff member or student found breaching copyright.
More Information
- Fast-Find Index - an A-Z glossary of copyright terms and topics
- Guidelines for Using Copyright Material for Educational Purposes
- Introduction to Copyright -a guide from the Copyright Office (b&w version for printing)
- Online Teaching Resources & Copyright - a guide from the Copyright Office ( b&w version for printing)
- Copyright: A User's Guide by Trevor Gerdsen. An online version of this text is also available.
- Copyright Essentials: A Practical Guide (B127v01) from the Australia Copyright Council.
- Contact the University Copyright Office