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About Copyright
What does copyright protect?
Copyright protects:
- written material
- artistic works music, dramatic works
- computer programs
- compilations
- movies
- sound recordings of voice or music
- broadcasts
- live performance
- use of unauthorized recording of a performance
- material on the Internet, unless it informs otherwise
- typesetting even if the text is out of copyright. So you may not be able to photocopy some old works because the typesetting is still protected
- very small direct quotes if they are unique and significant.
What if it doesn't follow the exact text?
One would contravene copyright by making a paraphrase of something or a revised later edition. It is demonstrably still the same work. A novel using exactly the same plot and characters would also fall under this category even if it did not use the same exact text.
How long does copyright last?
Copyright normally expires 50 years after the death of the author. this is being changed to 70 year based on the new free trade agreement with the US.
Are all rules the same?
No. Images, music and electronic media have different copyright rules.
There are also other kinds of intellectual property, such as patents, plant breeds, designs, circuit layouts, and trade marks.
What doesn't copyright protect?
Copyright applies to the text and does not extend to the ideas, concepts, styles, techniques or information. Names, titles, slogans and headlines are too small or unoriginal to be protected by copyright.
However, some of these may still be protected by other intellectual property laws:
- products based on ideas or techniques may be covered by patents.
- names may be protected as trade marks.
In any case, if you use the ideas in academic work and express them in your own words, you need to provide references to avoid plagiarism. (You can plagiarize without infringing copyright.)
What do you have to do to get copyright for your work?
Protection is free and automatic from the time something is first written or recorded. There is no registration for copyright protection in Australia.
The copyright notice does not need to be on something to gain protection, but it is a good reminder (e.g. © Joe Blow 1973)
Educational institutions have special provisions to use copyright material for educational purposes without the permission of the copyright owner. Some of these provisions allow material to be used for free and others require payment.
The Copyright Act also provides some exceptions to the general rules regarding copyright. The most important of these exceptions permits 'fair dealing' for the following purposes:
- research or study
- criticism or review
- the reporting of news, or
- professional legal advice.
This is no general exception for personal copying. It must be for one of the specified purposes.
What can you do?
You can make single or multiple copies for students as follows:
Books
- Up to 10% of the pages of a book of ten or more pages or one chapter including any illustrations accompanying the text
Periodicals
- One or more articles in each issue on the same subject matter
Journal articles
- A single copy of a journal article
Electronic materials
- 10% of the number of words in a work that is in electronic form
Anthologies
Up to 10% of the pages or one article provided:
- The work being copied has not been separately published
- The work is no longer than 15 pages
Out of print works
- Up to the whole of any work if the institution has checked with the supplier that the work is not available for purchase with 14 days or for text books 6 months and the normal price
What you can't do
You cannot sell copies to students (or anyone else) under any circumstances at all.
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Sources:
Copyright Law in Australia: A Short Guide Attorney-General's Department, August, 2001.
Information sheet G48: Educational institutions: introduction to copyright Australian Copyright Council, Strawberry Hills NSW, April 2002.