The law
- Copyright Act 1968 (Commonwealth) - current version of the Act.The current version includes all changes made by amending legislation, such as the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000, the Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000, the relevant parts of the US Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act 2004, and the Copyright Amendment Act 2006. There is generally no need to look at any of these amending acts.
- Attorney-General's Department - overview of the Copyright Act.
Australian Copyright Council Information Sheets
The following information sheets are all available from the Browse A-Z page of the Council's website.
- Governments - Commonwealth, State & Territory (G062) - includes a list of contacts for permission to reproduce government material
- Moral rights (G043) - a summary of moral rights
Exceptions that allow copying without permission
- Fair dealing (G079) - advice on exceptions which allow copying, under certain conditions, for research, study, criticism, review, parody, satire, reporting news or legal advice.
- Quotes and extracts (G034) - advice on using quotes and extracts for purposes ranging from research or study to publication.
- Research or study (G053) - advice on the exception which allows copying, under certain conditions, for research or study, including the 'ten per cent' rule and what is considered 'fair'.
Duration of copyright
- Duration of copyright (G023) - will help you work out whether copyright has expired. Includes tables listing duration of copyright by format and works in the public domain.
Copyright in specific types of works
- Artists & copyright (G033)
- Maps & charts (G090)
- Music (various)
- Websites & copyright (G057)
Collecting societies
- Australasian Performing Right Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (APRA/AMCOS) - pay for a licence to copy, perform or broadcast certain music.
- Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) - pay for a licence to copy certain books, articles, essays and artwork.
- Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) - pay for a licence to broadcast some recorded music or perform it in public.
- Screenrights - educational institutions and government agencies can pay for a licence to copy or broadcast certain film, television and radio productions.
- Viscopy - pay for a licence to copy the works of some Australian artists, craftspeople and photographers.
Other ways to find copyright owners
- Australian Publishers Association - links to the homepages for around 185 Australian publishers.
- Australian Society of Authors - a list of Australian authors with links to their individual web pages.
- Firms Out of Business (FOB) - lists some of the international publishing firms, magazines, literary agencies and similar organisations that are no longer in existence.
- Publishers Global - links to publishers in around 55 countries, including links to around 420 Australian publishers.
- WATCH - a useful source for contact details of international writers.
Organisations with expertise in copyright & other intellectual property rights
- Arts Law Centre of Australia
- Attorney General's Department
- Australian Copyright Council
- Australian Digital Alliance (ADA)
- Australian Libraries Copyright Committee (ALCC)
- Centre for Media and Communications Law, University of Melbourne
- Creative Commons Australia
- Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia
- IP Australia
- Resale Royalty Rights
