Copyright
Useful Links
http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/copyrightkitchen/main.php
SWTAFE and Copyright
Copyright - Frequently asked questions
What is copyright? --- What does copyright protect? --- How do I get copyright put on my work? --- Does copyright protect ideas? ---What are my rights if I own copyright? ---How long does copyright last? --- Who owns copyright? --- I
wrote something as part of my course; who owns copyright? --- I got my students to create a product and now I want to distribute the product; it belongs to my department doesn't it? --- I wrote something as part of my job; who owns copyright? --- Stuff on the Internet's copyright free, isn't it?
What is copyright?
Copyright is the legal basis on which authors and other creators earn a living. The Copyright Act tries to balance rewarding the creators of material and ensuring their market isn't unduly eroded with allowing public access to material.
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What does copyright protect?
The Act talks about "works" (involving the skill and labour of a creator) and "other subject matter" (involving the investment of a producer)
Works:
- artistic - paintings, drawings, cartoons, sculpture, craft, photos, maps and plans
- musical - scores, jingles
- dramatic - dances, plays, screenplays
- literary - instruction manuals, reports, novels, poems, essays, computer programs, tables, compilations
Other subject matter:
- films, video
- sound recordings
- broadcasts
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How do I get copyright put on my work?
In Australia, copyright is automatic as soon as a work is put in a reproducible format. The copyright symbol serves as a warning, but you don't have to have it for copyright protection to apply. Unlike patents, designs, trade marks and new plant varieties, there is no formal registration process before copyright protection applies.
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Does copyright protect ideas?
No. Copyright protects the manner of expression of ideas. You can use other people's ideas, but express them in your own way. Works don't have to have any literary merit or cultural value either to be protected by copyright.
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What are my rights if I own copyright?
You are the only one who can:
- reproduce the work
- make it public for the first time
- perform it in public
- broadcast it, or transmit it by cable to subscribers
- make a translation, dramatised or picturised version.
You can:
- assign rights - someone else becomes the owner
- licence rights - you're still the owner, but someone else is permitted to deal with the work
- limit rights granted - eg by period of time, or type of use
- impose conditions - eg that your name appears with the work.
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How long does copyright last?
Generally, from the time the work is created until 50 years after the end of the year in which the creator died.
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Who owns copyright?
Generally, the:
- author/creator for literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works
- producer for films and sound recordings
- publisher for published editions
- photographer for commissioned works, except those commissioned for private or domestic purposes eg weddings
- government for works created "under the direction and control" of the government
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I wrote something as part of my course; who owns copyright?
You do. Some institutions state as a condition of enrollment that signing the enrollment form equals assigning your rights to that institution. Current advice is that this is arguable. However, note that work first published by the government is owned by the government. This would apply if your work was, say, selected to be published in a text for use by other students.
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I got my students to create a product, now I want to distribute the product; it belongs to my department doesn't it?
No. It belongs to the students who created the product. You will have to seek written permission from each person involved. If you are trying to negotiate marketing the product, the organisation will have some equity if the organisation's equipment etc have been used to produce the item.
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I wrote something as part of my job; who owns copyright?
If the work could reasonably be seen as part of your job and unless you have made specific prior arrangements, the organisation probably owns the copyright. The question of moral rights is still being discussed.
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Stuff on the Internet's copyright free, isn't it?
No. Internet material is covered in the same way as material published in other forms.
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Copyright for students: what you can copy
The Copyright Act allows some free exceptions to what would otherwise be copyright breaches. As a student, you can make copies of a copyright work for the purpose of research and study. It's considered to be "fair dealing" to copy a "reasonable portion" for this purpose. This is usually defined as:
- up to 10% of a work of more than ten pages
- one chapter where the work is divided into chapters
- one article in a periodical publication (magazine, newspaper etc)
You can copy as much of your own work as you like.
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Copyright for staff: using print materials
Our agreement with CAL allows you to:
- make multiple copies of a reasonable portion of copyright works for distribution to students (ie handouts)
- copy up to 10% of a work per year (not per week, not per class...)
- collate sections from works and distribute (but not sell for profit) to students
- copy related articles from the same issue of a periodical (but not all the articles from a computer magazine because they're all about computers, for example)
Staff must participate in print copying audits as determined by CAL. These normally occur about every 6 years and last for about ten weeks. During the audit, precise records of all items copied are kept. These are collated weekly. The data forms the basis for returns to creators and for future formula calculations. The Copyright Officer becomes extremely crabby during this period.
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Copyright for staff: using audiovisual materials
Our agreement with Screenrights allows us to:
- purchase commercial audiovisual items and use them in class
- copy off air subject to the following rigorous conditions:
- full records must be kept for each item copied
- each item copied must be appropriately labelled
- each item copied must be paid for at the rate per minute deemed under the agreement
- a 14 day free preview period applies, but you are specifically excluded from previewing in front of students. Tapes must be wiped or paid for by the end of the period.
The Copyright officer is required to submit quarterly returns of all off air copying made on behalf of the organisation.
In practice this means that only tapes catalogued as part of the Library collection are to be used for work purposes. Schools have reached a different agreement, which allows them to copy anything off air and use it for educational purposes, but we do NOT have such an arrangement.
Contact the Library for any off air recording required. Departments are required to pay for all off air copying.
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Copyright for staff: using online materials
Material copied from the Internet or any online source is subject to the same copyright provisions as all other material. There are of course lots of added degrees of difficulty because many pages have been developed in complete ignorance of copyright issues. Developers may have swiped material which they do not have the authority to reproduce. Minimise your chances of breaching copyright by:
- selecting authoritative sites
- avoiding personal home pages
- downloading small amounts of material only.
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Copyright for staff: writing and developing materials
Before you begin a project:
- Clarify who will own the copyright for materials you develop (you, the organisation, the crown, the publisher) before you start work to avoid later disappointment.
- Scrupulously reference all your sources. If you have used someone's work in your writing, acknowledge their work.
- Be extremely careful that the work you produce is your own. Old class notes may have been cobbled together from a variety of sources; teachers who are also published writers suggest that it's best to start afresh.
- Build in the time to obtain permission to reproduce copyright material. Multimedia works are a particular nightmare. (For example, copyright for the publicity still from a motion picture is probably held by the actor photographed rather than the movie producer)
- Build in the cost to obtain permission to preproduce copyright material. Some copyright owners will freely grant permission, but many do not. In 1999, the cost to reproduce a simple newspaper article is around $60.00
- Seek written permission from the copyright owner to reproduce quotes of more than about 100 words. This is a rule of thumb guide only. If an author is well known for a particular pithy concept, you would need to seek permission for fewer words.
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South West TAFE's copyright licence agreements
As an educational institution, South West TAFE has access to some paid exceptions under the Copyright Act. This means we can do more than an individual, but we pay for the privilege. We deal with various licencing bodies, who collect monies and redistribute them to copyright owners. These bodies are:
- Radio in public places: APRA Australian Performing Rights Association
- Print: CAL Copyright Agency Limited
- Audiovisual: Screenrights
- Tapes, cds in public places: PPCA Phonographic Performance Copyright Association
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Links to other copyright information
The following sites contain information compiled by other organisations. South West TAFE takes no responsibility for the content of these links.
Australian Copyright Council
www.copyright.org.au
This site is the best place for up to date Australian copyright information. Information can be downloaded from the site using Adobe Acrobat.
Arts Law Centre of Australia
www.artslaw.asn.au/~artslaw/index.html
For advice on copyright law issues.
Copyright Act
www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca1968133
Also use this site to access the various amendments to the Copyright Act. There have been several amendments to the 1968 Act, with major changes likely by 2000.
Deakin University's publishing manual
www.deakin.edu.au/div_ls/Copyright/index.html
This site has been designed to assist Deakin University staff to prepare and use materials. A good source of general information for staff.
Microsoft
www.microsoft.com/permission
This section of the Microsoft licensing and software management guide deals with understanding copyright law as it relates to software licenses. Note that this is American law.
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Some Copyright resources held in our collection
Australian Copyright Council. Non-profit libraries & copyright: a practical guide. Redfern, NSW: Australian Copyright Council. 1997.
Blain, Georgia. A user's guide to copyright: a practical guide. [Rev. ed.] / revised by Virginia Morrison. Redfern, N.S.W.: Australian Copyright Council, 1998.
Baulch, Libby. Computer software & copyright: a practical guide. [Rev.
1997]. Redfern, N.S.W.: Australian Copyright Council. 1997.
Baulch, Libby. Copyright & the Internet: a discussion paper. Redfern, N.S.W.: Australian Copyright Council. 1997.
Bridge, Susan. A teacher's guide to copyright: a practical guide. Rev. ed. / revised by Libby Baulch and Virginia Morrison. 1997.
Copyright in training materials: a practical guide. Redfern N.S.W.: Australian Coupyright council. 1998 .
Copyright for book publishers: a practical guide. Redfern, N.S.W.: Australian Copyright Council. 1997.
Copy right or cop it! : intellectual property & copyright in the training environment. Wodonga Vic. : Wodonga Institute of TAFE, 1998.
Gerdsen, Trevor J. Copyright: a user's guide. Melbourne: RMIT Press. 1996.
Goddard, Sophie. Artists and copyright: a practical guide. July 1997 revision. Redfern, N.S.W.: Australian Copyright Council. 1997.
Multimedia producers & copyright: a practical guide. Rev. ed. Redfern,
N.S.W.: Australian Copyright Council. 1997.
National Library of Australia. National Library of Australia copyright guidelines. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 1997.
Photographers & copyright: a practical guide. [7th rev. ed.]. Redfern, N.S.W.: Australian Copyright Council. 1997.
Teachers & academics as creators: a discussion paper. Rev. ed. Redfern, N.S.W.: Australian Copyright Council. 1997.
A teachers guide to copyright. Jan. 1996 rev. [ed.]. Redfern, N.S.W.: Australian Copyright Council. 1996.
Writers & copyright: a practical guide. Rev ed. Redfern, N.S.W.: Australian Copyright Council. 1997.
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