Copyright basics
What is copyright
Copyright is a type of intellectual property right that is founded on a person's creative skill and labour. Unlike physical property (sometimes called ‘tangible’ property), copyright is an intangible form of property that cannot be seen or touched, but is brought into existence by the law.
Copyright gives its owners (often the creators of the material) exclusive economic rights to do certain acts with that material. These include the right to copy, publish, communicate and publicly perform the copyright material. Communication can include broadcasting or making it publicly available.
Copyright also gives authors and performers non-economic rights, known as moral rights. Moral rights recognised in Australia are the right of integrity, the right of attribution and the right against false attribution.
Laws that govern copyright in Australia
Copyright exists in works and other subject matter by virtue of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).
The Copyright Regulations 2017 and the Copyright (International Protection) Regulations 1969 (Cth) specify matters related to the operation of the Copyright Act.
What copyright protects
Copyright gives legal protection for people who express original ideas and information in certain forms. The most common forms are writing, visual images, music and moving images. Examples include:
- literary works (books, articles, computer programs, software code, song lyrics and poems)
- artistic works (paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, maps, diagrams and works of artistic craftmanship)
- musical works (musical compositions or arrangements)
- dramatic works (plays, scripts, dance choreography, mime performances)
- sound recordings
- films
- television and radio broadcasts
- published editions (the typographical arrangement in a book).
Copyright does not protect ideas or information, only the original expression of ideas or information. It does not prevent someone else from discussing the same subject or independently producing the same work.
Copyright does not usually protect names and titles, because these are not considered original enough.
How long copyright protection lasts
Copyright duration can differ depending on the type of copyright material and if it has been made public.
Generally, copyright lasts for:
- 70 years after the death of the author for works
- 70 years after creation or being made public for sound recordings and films
- 50 years after creation or being made public for government works.
When copyright expires, the material falls into the 'public domain' and may be freely used without permission.
Our duration of copyright table summarises the duration of copyright for different types of material.
What counts as copyright infringement
Generally, copyright is infringed if a person does one of the exclusive acts reserved to the copyright owner without that owner's permission. It is not necessary for a whole work to be reproduced or for more than one reproduction to be made for an infringement of copyright to occur. An infringement of copyright occurs so long as a substantial portion of a work has been reproduced or used in another way covered by the copyright owner’s exclusive rights.
Exceptions to infringement
The Copyright Act allows for exceptions which enable some use of copyright material without the permission of the copyright owner in certain circumstances. The most common exceptions permit 'fair dealings' with copyright material for certain purposes:
- research or study
- criticism or review
- reporting of news
- giving of professional advice by a lawyer or a patent or trade mark attorney
- parody and satire
- the making of copies in accessible formats by, or on behalf of, a person with a disability.
Using overseas copyright material in Australia
Often, overseas copyright material is protected in Australia. A key factor is whether the material is made by a national of a country that is a party to one of the relevant copyright conventions to which Australia is also a party.
Using Australian copyright material overseas
Often, Australian copyright material is protected overseas. A key factor is whether the overseas territory is a party to one of the relevant copyright conventions to which Australia is also a party.
Copyright treaties and conventions that apply in Australia
Australia is a party to a number of international copyright treaties and conventions, including the:
- Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
- Universal Copyright Convention
- Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations
- World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
- World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty
- Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorised Duplication of Their Phonograms
- WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
- WIPO Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled.
Australia has also entered into a number of free trade agreements (FTAs) with individual countries and groups of countries. Many of these FTAs include agreed rules on copyright. Visit Free trade agreements on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website for more information.
Trade marks, patents and other types of intellectual property
IP Australia is the Australian Government agency that administers the 4 types of registered intellectual property (IP) rights, including patents, trade marks, designs and plant breeder's rights. These types of IP are different to copyright and need to be registered with IP Australia. Visit the IP Australia website for more information.