overview
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Australia
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Intellectual
Property
Australian
Law
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the
Australian regime
This page provides an indication of the length of protection
under Australian copyright law for different categories
of works.
It covers -
It
supplements the discussion of copyright duration
in the Intellectual Property guide elsewhere on this site
and the note on Australian law.
Basic model
Like regimes overseas, the Australian legislation differentiates
between the creativity of individual authors and that
of organisations. In essence, most protection of content
created by individuals is for the author's lifetime plus
x years. Content created by government agencies and by
organisations, in contrast, is protected for a flat period
of x years. Where the duration period is measured by the
author's life, that period applies even if the author
is not the copyright owner.
The legislation also differentiates between media, irrespective
of the seriousness, artistic value or creativity of the
particular expression.
Until late 2004 Australia provided a shorter period of
protection than the European Union for works of individual
authorship and shorter than the US for some collective
works (eg films). The copyright provisions
of the US Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
2004 brought protection into line with that of the
US.
For most literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works,
copyright currently lasts for the life of the "author"
plus seventy years after the end of the year in which
the author died.
There are however variations for some works (notably photographs,
for which protection was formerly independent of the author's
life) and owners, for example anonymous works and works
commissioned by governments.
photographs
Photographs are now protected for the photographer's life
plus seventy years.
Prior to the FTA a photograph
taken before 1 May 1969 was protected for fifty years
from the end of the year in which the photo was taken.
The term of copyright protection for photographs taken
before 1955 has accordingly expired, regardless of whether
the author has since died or is still alive.
A photograph taken after 1 May 1969 was protected for
fifty years from the end of the year of first publication.
Differentiation from other graphic arts has been argued
on the basis that photography is 'mechanical' - one of
the more bombastic Canberra bureaucrats opined that "the
camera takes the photograph, not the photographer".
Irrespective of human rights concerns, it is difficult
to sustain claims that photography is not a true art when
prints now have significant commercial value. A print
of Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey's 1842 Athènes.
T.[emple] de J.[upiter] Olympien. pris de l’Est
for example went for £565,250 in 2003, comparable
with prices highlighted here.
films
Films & multimedia works made after 1 May 1969 are protected
for seventy years from the end of the year of first publication.
Note that protection for a musical score, painting or
screenplay used in the film - ie an 'underlying work'
- may be for a longer period (ie tied to life plus seventy
years).
engravings
Engravings - as derivative and 'mechanical' art forms
- have traditionally enjoyed a shorter period of protection
than paintings, sculptures and drawings.
They are generally protected for the author's life plus
seventy years if published during the author’s lifetime,
and for a flat seventy years from initial publication
if first published after the author's death
anonymous works
Anonymous works are protected for seventy years from
the date of first publication.
unpublished works
What of unpublished literary manuscripts, letters, plays
or music scores discovered in your great aunt Hilda's
bottom drawer?
Literary, dramatic & musical works (other than computer
programs) that were "not published, performed, communicated,
recorded and offered for sale" during the author's
lifetime are protected for seventy years from the end
of the year of first publication, performance or broadcast.
If you find an unpublished Shakespeare or Jane Austen
text it is in copyright for seventy years after publication,
even though the author is long dead.
works commissioned/owned by government
If a work was made for or first published by a government,
or if copyright is owned by a government ('Crown copyright',
discussed here), it may have
a shorter period of protection. Publications and other
copyright works owned by Australian governments are not
automatically in the public domain; that contrasts with
the US but is consistent with practice in many other countries
Literary, musical and dramatic works (and engravings)
made for or first published, by an Australian government,
or in which copyright is owned by a government are protected
under section 180 of the Act for fifty years from the
end of the year of first publication. Sound recordings
and films are similarly protected - under section 181
of the Act - for fifty years from the end of the the year
of first publication. This contrasts with New Zealand,
where some works are protected for one hundred years.
sound recordings
Sound recordings made before 1 May 1969 are protected
for seventy years from the 'making' of the recording.
Sound recordings made after 1 May 1969 are protected for
seventy years from the end of the year of first publication
of the recording.
That protection is independent of any copyright in underlying
works (eg a musical score, protected as a published edition
or for the author's life plus seventy years).
broadcasts
Radio and television broadcasts are protected for fifty
years from the end of the year in which the first broadcast
took place
musical, theatrical and other performances
The period of protection is usually twenty years,
but sometimes fifty years, from the end of the year in
which the performance occurred.
published editions
Publishers have copyright in the typographical arrangement
and layout of a published edition. That is separate to
the copyright in works reproduced in the edition (such
as poems, illustrations or music).
The protection for the typographical arrangement of a
work in a published edition is 25 years from the end of
the year of first publication of that edition.
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