New copyright amendments – time to get concerned

See latest responses below or see all 12 comments »

Following its expeditious passing in the Senate on 1 December, the Copyright Amendment Bill 2006 was passed by the House of Representatives on 4 December 2006.  

While the majority of the amendments to the Bill contain changes that will find favour with consumers and rightsholders alike regarding new uses of copyright material, like everything, the devil is in the detail.

CAL is pleased with a number of the amendments, but believes the current wave of copyright amendments will have unintended and detrimental consequences for Australian writers, artists and publishers - and as a result, the public as a whole. 

Latest 2 responses

11. Hi Malcolm McKerihan, Director, Clifton Publishing
    Subnitting work online
    When submitting short stories, and other work online, can they be copywrited.
    
    Feb 03, 2007 at 5:13 am

12. CAL Representative
    CAL responds
    Thanks for the question Malcolm. Copyright in the digital age is certainly something that everyone needs to consider, given the trend towards using new media channels and changing consumer preferences for accessing content.
    
    The good news is that copyright protection is free and automatic from the moment your work is created, as long as the work is sufficiently original. Original works do not need to be registered to enjoy copyright protection.
    
    In Australia, a work will usually be protected for life plus 70 years following the death of the creator.
    
    This copyright protection extends to almost all material found on the internet including written material, musical works, films and sound recordings.
    
    Copyright owners have certain exclusive rights for the electronic use of their materials, including the right to communicate the material to the public. For example, by posting the material on a website or emailing the material to other parties.
    
    Before selling or licensing the use of your works, or even submitting them online, you need to consider a number of issues, some of which are outlined below.
    
    Creators can license or assign the copyright and exclusive rights in their work to other parties. This can be through an outright sale or a licence agreement with a publisher, aggregator service or e-library.
    
    Creators should be aware that some online publications may require you to assign the copyright in any works submitted so that the work can be re-used in other ways - for example, packaged with other materials such as DVDs or CD-ROMs.
    
    So, when deciding what you are going to do with your work in the online environment, creators should think about the current and potential value and uses of your material as digital publishing, revenue models and channels are still under development.
    
    Before entering into any licence, sale or other agreement for the use of your materials, consider things such as:
    
    *how you are granting the rights, eg by assignment, which is similar to a sale, or an exclusive or nonexclusive licence, similar to a lease,
    *how the work can be used, eg for publication, reproduction and communication electronically and/or in hardcopy form;
    *how secondary income is to be dealt with, such as CAL payments and other royalties, and
    *for how long you wish to grant the rights in your work, such as one year, five years or the full copyright term.
    
    Under the Copyright Act 1968 creators have the right to pursue legal action against anyone who infringes your copyright. From January 2007 the penalties for infringement of digital copyright protection measures were increased.
    
    While use of the copyright symbol, ©, is not required for a work to be protected in the analogue or digital environment, it is recommended as an immediate way of alerting users to the fact that copyright is being claimed in the work they are viewing. Including the copyright symbol or a copyright notice also reminds users who want to make other uses of the work to contact the copyright owner and negotiate licensing or assignment arrangements.
    
    If you have created work for, or used materials in the online environment, let us know your thoughts by joining our discussion. Or for more information about things you should consider when offering or making your work available online visit www.copyright.com.au and view the range of information sheets on this topic.
    
    Regards,
    
    CAL
    
    
    
    
    Feb 09, 2007 at 1:46 pm