Copyright protects the original way in which facts or ideas are expressed, for example in writing, source code, a drawing, painting or photograph. Copyright does not protect the facts or ideas themselves. Nor does it protect names (e.g. geographical names, family names) or slogans, for example, promotional campaigns).

To be protected by copyright, material/subject matter must be original and in material form (i.e. written down or recorded, not just an abstract thought or idea). Copyright covers materials created both in hard copy and electronic format.

Copyright does not protect ideas, so it does not prevent the independent creation by another person of an expression of a similar idea. For example, if you and another person both write an original essay about the same topic, copyright protects both essays.

The Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth) (Copyright Act) divides copyright into:

• literary works, such as books, articles, scripts and poems, and compilations, such as databases and directories
• artistic works, such as photographs, paintings, sculptures, maps and plans (Note: 'Artistic' for the purposes of copyright is just the title of the category. It does not imply an aesthetic quality. For example, for the purpose of copyright, there is no difference between a work by a critically acclaimed artist, such as Picasso, and that of a novice)
• dramatic and musical works
• subject matter other than works, including films, broadcasts, sound recordings and multimedia; and published editions (i.e. typographical arrangement of the work that is separate from the content of the work reproduced).

Copyright protection

To be protected by copyright, the subject matter must be original and in material form (i.e. written down or recorded). Protection is automatic and copyright exists:

• for literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works—when it is first written down or reduced to material form. For example, handwritten text, drawing, painting, typing text in a Microsoft Word document, recording on a disc
• for a cinematograph film—when all the necessary things have been done for the production of the first copy of the film
• for a sound or television broadcast—when the broadcast is made from a place in Australia.

Duration of copyright

The duration of copyright protection for literary, dramatic and artistic works is generally the life of the creator plus 70 years. Other rules may apply, depending on the subject matter such as films, sound recordings and multimedia.

Find out more about the duration of copyright in Australia from the Australian Copyright Council and read the Duration of copyright information sheet.

The Australian Government Attorney-General's Department, which is responsible for copyright in Australia, is another source of copyright information.

Owners of copyright in literary, dramatic, artistic and musical works have the exclusive right to:

• reproduce the work in material form – this includes manually copying (e.g. tracing a picture or copying some text by hand), photocopying, scanning, recording (e.g. digitally recording, making a video/DVD and filming)
• publish the work (i.e. making the work public for the first time)
• communicate the work to the public (this includes posting material on an internet site and faxing, emailing or broadcasting the work).

Owners of copyright in literary, dramatic and musical works (not owners of copyright in artistic works) also have the exclusive right to:

• perform the work – this includes live performances (e.g. a play, musical, opera or a band/orchestra playing a piece of music), as well as playing a film or sound recording in public)
• make an adaptation (e.g. adapting a novel into a play or movie script, an arrangement of a musical work, or translating a publication into another language).

Owners of copyright in films, sound recordings, broadcasts and published editions have exclusive rights to:

• make a copy of the material
• cause a film to be seen, or a sound recording heard, by the public
• communicate the material using any form of technology (e.g. email, or the internet)
• re-broadcast to the public or otherwise communicate a television or sound broadcast.

Copyright protection is automatic

Copyright exists as soon as an idea has been written down or recorded in some other way, and is automatic. There is no need to register the material.

The use of the symbol © means the material is protected by copyright.

Using a copyright notice

A copyright notice alerts users that copyright exists. It also identifies the owner of the copyright. For example:

© Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy 2022

A copyright statement should accompany the notice to identify what the user can and cannot do with the work. The Queensland Government applies a Creative Commons licence to information to be released for public use to let people know how it can be used, and the attribution required:

© The State of Queensland 2022

The Queensland Government supports and encourages the distribution of its material.

Unless otherwise noted, all copyright material available on or through this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY) licence.

You are free to use copyright material available on or through this website in line with the licence terms. You must keep the copyright notice on the copyright material and attribute the State of Queensland as the source of the copyright material.

Copyright ownership

It's important to note that the owner of the product is not always the owner of copyright material.

The general rule is that the author is the first owner of the copyright in a literary, music, or dramatic work, a computer program or an artistic work, such as a drawing.

This rule may not apply if the copyright material:

• was created by an employee as part of his or her usual duties
• was created by a journalist
• was a commissioned photograph taken for a private purpose or a commissioned portrait or engraving
• was the subject of an agreement between the author and another person/organisation which included provisions about who would own the copyright material.

For example, you have just bought a movie DVD. You are the owner of the actual DVD, but you are not the copyright owner. The owner of the moving images and the sounds may be the movie company (e.g. Warner Brothers, Dreamworks, Disney). The soundtrack of the movie may consist of various songs compiled from different sources. In this case, the recording company (e.g. Sony, EMI Records) may be the owner of the soundtrack copyright. Additionally, the screenplay may also be owned by a different person or company.

Therefore, if you are reproducing copyright material, you need to check ownership, as there may be different owners of different components of the material you wish to reproduce.

Also consider...

• Visit the Australian Copyright Council – a non-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia Council for the Arts. It supports a creative Australia through providing information and advice on copyright.
• Read how the copyright function is with the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department, and copyright information is provided on that website.

Copyright is a form of property so it can be dealt with in similar ways to other forms of property. It can also be an asset and dealt with in accordance with financial regulations. Copyright can be sold (assigned), transferred or licensed.

Copyright is divisible – you can license or assign some or all of your rights. For example, you can restrict the scope of a licence or assignment so that the licensee or assignee only has the right to distribute the copyright material electronically, but not as a hard copy publication.

You can also limit the assignment or licence of some or all of your rights by:

• territory (e.g. Queensland only)
• time (e.g. 3 years)
• type of use (e.g. only print in hard copy format and in a particular publication).

All copyright material may be licensed. This means that the external person/organisation seeking to use copyright material (the licensee) is entitled to deal with the copyright material in the ways covered by the licence, for the duration of the licence.

A copyright licence may be:

• exclusive – the external person/organisation (licensee) can exercise the rights granted under the licence to the exclusion of all others, including the copyright owner. As this is similar to granting the licensee a monopoly, you should ensure that any exclusive licence complies with relevant guidelines
• non-exclusive – the external person/organisation (licensee) can use the copyright material in the way outlined in the licence agreement. However, the copyright owner may also continue to use the copyright material and can grant other external people/organisations a non-exclusive licence to use the same copyright material
• perpetual – the licence continues for the full term of the copyright
• of limited duration – the licence continues for the period of time specified in the licence agreement
• worldwide – the copyright may be used anywhere in the world
• limited to a geographical area – the copyright may only be used in a specified area (e.g. Australia).

Also consider...

• Visit the Australian Copyright Council – a non-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia Council for the Arts. It supports a creative Australia through providing information and advice on copyright.
• Read how the copyright function is with the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department, and copyright information is provided on that website.

An infringement will occur if you use a substantial part of copyright material without the permission of the copyright owner.

A 'substantial part' is not defined by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth) (Copyright Act). However, the courts consider that the quality of what is copied, not the quantity, is the deciding factor. A substantial part includes an essential feature or a 'vital or material part even though only a small part'. For example, reproduction of the chorus of a song or the most recognised part of a song (e.g. the first few bars) may be substantial enough to be an infringement even though there are multiple verses or movements.

A person may also use a 'substantial part' even if they have edited the material or followed a similar structure or layout.

There are no guidelines about the quantity or percentage of copyright material that may be used without permission (apart from the provisions of the Copyright Act, which allow for some uses of copyright material that would otherwise be infringements). Each case depends on its facts.

Infringement defence options

Even though a substantial part of copyright material has been used, there may be a defence or an exception to the infringement provisions in the Copyright Act which allows the use of the copyright material without permission.

Defences and exceptions include:

• Fair dealing for research and study. A person may use a 'reasonable portion' of a literary, dramatic or musical work for research or study. This is defined as 10% of the work in an edition of more than 10 pages or up to 1 chapter, if the work is divided into chapters. For artistic works and works that are not published as editions and audio-visual material, the use must be assessed by reference to the factors set out in the Copyright Act.
• Fair dealing for criticism or review. Where this defence is relied upon, a 'sufficient acknowledgement' must be made by identifying the work by its title and, unless the work is anonymous, identifying the author. Determining whether use constitutes 'fair dealing' under this defence (and the reporting news defence below) can be difficult. Generally, the whole of the copyright work should not be used. For example, long extracts with short comments criticising or reviewing the work may be unfair; short extracts with long comments may be fair.
• Fair dealing for the purpose of parody or satire. This defence allows copyright material to be used for the purpose of parody or satire. For example, through an overlapping satirical script referencing an original artistic work.
• Fair dealing for reporting the news. Similar considerations apply as those for the defence for criticism and review.
• For the purpose of giving professional advice, or in a judicial proceeding.
• Performance in class for educational instruction. The use must be part of educational instruction, must not be provided for profit, and the audience must be limited to those taking part in the instruction.
• Copying by educational institutions.
• Special circumstances for artistic works in public places. This includes making a photograph, painting, drawing, engraving or film of a sculpture or a building, or a model of a building. It also includes the incidental appearance of artistic works in public places in a film or video (e.g. painting, photograph, mural or sculpture appearing in the background of a film).

Also consider...

• Visit the Australian Copyright Council - a non-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia Council for the Arts. It supports a creative Australia through providing information and advice on copyright.
• Read how the copyright function is with the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department, and copyright information is provided on that website.