What is Copyright?

This fact sheet is for copyright owners who are interested in licensing their materials for free through the Creative Commons.
Creative Commons licences are most suitable for people who do not need to generate income from other people's use of their creative work. This fact sheet outlines the effects and nature of the different Creative Commons licenses available for copyright owners who are interested in allowing others to use their work without payment.
Date: 01 Feb 2023

Here we discuss the legal issues relevant to people compiling or collecting data, information or other pre existing material and the copyright protections they may have.
While not inherently protected by copyright, the way in which facts, data and information is expressed might be protected by general copyright if it satisfies the general copyright threshold. This fact sheet explores the legal issues relevant to people compiling or using items such as tables of information, indexes and forms, collections of information such as directories, anthologies of short stories, essays or poetry and databases.
Date: 17 May 2023

This fact sheet sets out the rules on duration of copyright.
In Australia, there is no register of copyright material, and no list of what material is in the "public domain". This fact sheet and its tables on duration of copyright is for people who want to work out whether copyright has expired under Australian law.
Date: 21 Jul 2023

This fact sheet outlines the fair dealing exceptions in the Copyright Act and how they apply.
The Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) allows people to use copyright material without the copyright owner's permission in certain situations, including fair dealing for specific purposes. This fact sheet outlines the fair dealing exceptions in the Copyright Act, who can use them and how they apply.
Date: 01 Jan 2020

This fact sheet is for people who want to copy or download material from the Internet or swap and share files online.
Just because material is freely available, doesn't make it free to use. This fact sheet explores the limits that copyright laws place on people who want to copy or download material from the Internet, as well as the impact of copyright law on the sharing of files online.
Date: 20 Jan 2023

In this fact sheet, we give general introductory information about copyright in Australia.
This fact sheet provides an entry level overview of copyright in Australia, focusing on copyright as free and automatic protection, the limits of protections, how copyright law is enshrined and how it operates to protect a wide variety of works.
Date: 22 Oct 2022

In this fact sheet, we outline important issues affecting the management of digital resources such as online journals, digital music, digital video content and software.
Most copyright owners of digital material provide their material under licences, often with certain conditions. This means that if you are using material in digital form, how you can use the material will be determined by the licence, rather than provisions in the Copyright Act. This fact sheet explores the operation of licences and their interaction with the Copyright Act.
Date: 28 Nov 2022

This fact sheet gives an overview of copyright law as it relates to the protection and use of logos.
The Copyright Act provides several categories of material which are eligible for copyright protection. One of these is "artistic works". This category includes drawings, diagrams, charts, maps, plans, paintings, engravings and photographs, as well as sculptures, craft works, buildings, and relevantly, logos.
Date: 11 Jan 2023

In this fact sheet, we give a brief overview of copyright law as it relates to the use and creation of newsletters.
Newsletters remain an important method of engagement for businesses, interest groups and others both within the creative industries and outside of them, This fact sheet provides an outline of how copyright law impacts and applies to newsletters, both in their content, creation and distribution.
Date: 01 Jan 2020

This fact sheet is for organisations that provide public access to machines that reproduce copyright materials.
Copyright can be infringed through the unauthorised copying of material, and organisations that facilitate this can be held liable. This fact sheet provides organisations that provide public access to machines that reproduce material (such as photocopiers, scanners, computers, printers, and audio/video recording equipment) a guide as to how they can minimise the organisation's chances of being liable for the actions of people using the machines.
Date: 16 Dec 2022

This fact sheet outlines issues relating to permissions and clearances for copyright material.
While permission is always a good thing to have, it is not always necessary to obtain permission in order to use certain materials. This fact sheet is for people who are familiar with the basic copyright principles set out in our fact sheet entitled An Introduction to Copyright In Australia and outlines issues relating to permissions and clearances for copyright material, as well as giving a brief overview of issues regarding duration and exceptions.
Date: 24 Jan 2023

This fact sheet provides some suggestions on how to locate copyright owners for people who want permission to use copyright material.
Unlike the systems for trade marks, patents and designs, there is no Australian registration system for copyright, so there are no official records of ownership that you can search. For this reason, you may need to use a variety of resources when looking for copyright owners. In some cases, you may need to do some detective work. This fact sheet acts as a useful guide for those who need to seek permission from the copyright owner for use of a work.
Date: 24 Jan 2023

This fact sheet is for students and others who want to know what (and how much) they can copy for research or study purposes.
The Copyright Act provides special provisions that allow people to use copyright material for the purpose of research or study without infringing copyright, provided the use is "fair". This fact sheet explores the operation of this fair dealing exception and the limits of what you may do within the bounds of research or study.
Date: 16 Dec 2022

This fact sheet considers copyright in training materials.
In this fact sheet, we give a brief overview of copyright law as it applies to the creation and use of training materials. It is relevant to people who write or produce written or illustrated training materials in hardcopy or digital form. We give detailed information in our book Copyright in Training Materials.
Date: 20 Dec 2022

This fact sheet is for anyone interested in copyright issues relevant to creating and managing websites.
Websites are a critical part of any business, and while websites are not protected, copyright can protect the component parts of websites. This fact sheet is for web developers, bloggers, website designers, start-ups, businesses and anyone interested in the copyright issues that come up when creating and managing websites.
Date: 21 Dec 2022