Is overseas copyright material protected in Australia?
The provisions of the Copyright Act extend to works of nationals, citizens and residents of other convention countries and to works made or first published in those countries, by virtue of the Copyright (International Protection) Regulations 1969. Copyright will therefore subsist in Australia in a work made by a national of a country that is a party to one of the copyright conventions to which Australia is also a party - provided the type of work concerned is covered by the convention. This is subject to certain restrictions in the regulations.
For example, as Australia and the United States are members of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, original works of US nationals or works first published in the US will receive the same copyright protection as Australian nationals receive under the Copyright Act.
In order to establish in court proceedings who is the owner and whether the copyright has been made under conditions or in a place that is recognised in Australia as giving rise to a valid copyright, valid foreign certificates and documentation (eg US Copyright registration certificates) can be used as evidence and are given a degree of evidentiary weight. It will be up to the person disputing the ownership and publication information in such certificates to point to something that raises an issue as to the accuracy of what they say.