Here are the main points to know about copyright, including history, terminology, and the law itself.
Copyright law is dictated by the Copyright Act 1968.
While the Act is lengthy and has evolved over the years, it has its shortcomings. The Act has been slow to adapt to the exponential changes in technology affecting intellectual property, including the internet and artificial intelligence. This law also makes no mention of Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property.
All works created in Australia are automatically granted copyright protection upon creation.
Works must be in a tangible form, e.g. written or recorded in some way. Ideas cannot be copyrighted, nor can unrecorded songs or stories (e.g. oral tradition). There is no central register for copyrighted works, but there are some things you can do to help protect your copyright.
Generally, copyright lasts for 70 years after the creator’s death, although it depends upon the type of material and when it was created. More detailed information can be found in these copyright term flow charts (created by ALACC).
After the term of copyright ends, the material enters the public domain and can be used freely.
Most material (e.g. writing, images, music) will likely be copyrighted, although there are exceptions. Copyright is concerned with copying and “communicating” (sharing, republishing) works, rather than merely reading or accessing material.
The main questions to consider are:
There are different copyright use provisions depending on if you are using material in teaching, publishing, or research or study.
No, you don’t always need to ask permission to use copyrighted content.
However, this depends on the ways you intend to use the content. The copyright exceptions page outlines some of the ways you can use content without permission. This includes material covered by Creative Commons and statutory licenses, and provisions for students and people with disabilities.
There are plenty of ways to use copyrighted work without permission (see copyright exceptions). However, if the use isn’t covered by an exception or you use material inappropriately (for example, by sharing material on the internet), this is called “infringement”.
At the very least, a copyright owner can issue a takedown request, ordering immediate removal of the material. Sometimes, creators (particularly photographers) employ copyright tracking agencies to scour the internet for copyright infringement and impose financial penalties for infringement. More serious legal actions (e.g. lawsuits) are also possible.
The Copyright Act 1968 has been slow to adapt to technological developments and does not specifically address the copyright of work generated by artificial intelligence. However, here are some important elements to consider.
In Australia, copyright ownership can only be bestowed on human beings, so AI itself cannot be considered an ‘author’.
Additionally, authors or creators must be able to demonstrate that they have contributed ‘independent intellectual effort’ in producing a work. For example, it is not likely that inputting prompts to an AI tool would be considered enough ‘independent intellectual effort’ to warrant copyright ownership of the output.
To learn more about copyright and AI, review the Arts Law Centre of Australia’s information sheet. To learn more about how to approach AI in academic work, check out the Library’s guide to Generative AI.
The term Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) refers to Indigenous peoples’ rights over their traditional culture, knowledge and heritage in all forms that may take. The lack of provisions for ICIP in Australian copyright law can leave such work vulnerable to exploitation, so it should be approached in a culturally considerate way. Learn more about ICIP.
It’s easy to get confused about the difference between copyright and referencing.
While referencing respects intellectual property by acknowledging sources, copyright regulates the use and distribution of creative works.
There are copyright provisions for students to use copyrighted works without permission when their work stays within Blackboard or Canvas. See Copyright for Research and Study for more information. However, if students are planning to share their work online, any copyrighted work they use should either be openly licensed or used with permission of the creator or author.
For more information about referencing, see the referencing guide or contact the library..