|
Home >
Shop >
Copies Direct >
Copyright > In Pictures
Copyright in Pictures
Copyright
Copyright is the exclusive right to:
- Reproduce a work in material form
- Publish a work (exhibition is not considered to be a form of
publication but an electronic publication is)
- Include a work in a television program
Ownership of Copyright
In Australia, the artist or photographer initially owns the
copyright in their work with the following exceptions:
- A photograph taken by a photographer as part of their terms of
their employment is owned by their employer. (Except in the case where the
employer is the proprietor of a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, in
which case the photographer will retain the right to control inclusion of the
photograph in a book or as part of a hard copy news clipping service).
- For a photograph taken prior to 30 July 1998, the copyright in
photograph which was commissioned by a person other than the photographer
belongs to that person. For a photograph taken after 30 July 1998, the
copyright in a photograph commissioned by a person other than the photographer
belongs to that person only if it was taken for a 'private or domestic purpose'
(such as a family portrait or a wedding photograph).
Duration of copyright
The Australian Copyright Act defines a variety of materials with
different copyright protection. Those that pertain to the National Library's
Pictorial Collection are as follows:
- Life of author plus 50 years
- Engravings and other prints published during the author's
lifetime
- Artistic works other than photographs and engravings and
other prints
- 50 years from first publication
- Engravings and other prints first published after the
author's death or in which the Crown owns copyright;
- Photographs taken after 1 May 1969. An unpublished
photograph holds copyright in perpetuity
- 50 years from making
- Photographs taken before 1 May 1969
- Artistic works (other than engravings and other prints) in
which the Crown owns copyright
- Period of protection in country of origin
- Materials not made or published in Australia
Further Information
For more information, please communicate directly with the
Pictures Branch:
Pictures Branch National Library of Australia Parkes
Place CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA
Telephone: 61 + 2 6262 1370
Facsimile: 61 + 2 6273 5763 E-mail:
pictorial@nla.gov.au
You may also want to contact
copyright
collecting agencies such as VISCOPY, the Visual Arts Collecting Society, or
visit the World Wide Web sites of the Copyright Agency Limited and the
Australian Copyright Council for
more information on copyright.
 |