What is the copyright act?

The Copyright Act 1968 legally grants and regulates the exclusive right of authors and creators in Australia to control the use of their work and their means to earn a living from their work. Copyright applies to literary, musical, dramatic and artistic works found in a wide range of media, including material found on the internet and on CDs and DVDs. The Act contains some exceptions which allow certain copying to be done without permission. These exceptions include provisions for fair dealing and the statutory licences that allow educational institutions to copy and print digital material.

In brief:

Q: How much copying can students do?

Students can use the following as a guide when copying for study or research purposes:

• Books: Up to 10% of the book or one chapter

• Anthologies: One whole item [up to 15 pages]

• Journals: One article

Q: Are there exemptions from seeking copyright permission?

Some copyright material can be used without seeking permission. These exceptions include:

• Fair dealing for the purpose of research or study, which allows a student or researcher to copy 10% or one chapter of a published literary, dramatic or musical work of 10 pages or more and one article from a journal.

• Fair dealing for the purpose of criticism or review, which allows reviewers to make fair use of copyright material provided that they acknowledge the work.

• Statutory licences which allow educational institutions to reproduce and communicate material protected by copyright.

(Information Source https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/hsc-all-my-own-work/copyright/copyright-act)

Q: I want to use music in videos I am creating for a class assessment. Is that OK?

• Generally, students will be able to dub music into videos they are making for class (see “Research or study” above as well as the information on the APRA|AMCOS/ARIA Schools’ Music Recordings and Access Licence).

• However, if the purpose for which the music is being dubbed includes other purposes, such as public screening, entry into competitions or broadcast on local TV, permission will generally be required from relevant copyright owners (see “Getting permission” above).”

(Information Source https://www.copyright.org.au/ACC_Prod/ACC/Information_Sheets/Music__Use_in_Home_Videos___Student_Films.aspx)

For full access to the NAC: COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL TEACHING ENVIRONMENT manual, please click here.

Can you copyright your own work when sharing?

Check out Creative Commons, millions of artists, authors, musicians... and creators have used Creative Commons free licencing products to safely and easily protect their work, and interestingly, to easily give specific permissions for the public to use their work.

Why is it important to respect intellectual property?

It is important to respect intellectual property for these three reasons:

1. To promote creative communities and rich cultures. We must support creative work by paying writers, artists, musicians and designers for their work.

2. To promote freedom of speech and expression. When individual creative people can make a living from sales of their work, they are free from the pressures of sponsorship by governments or large corporations.

3. It is wrong to steal. It is immoral and illegal to steal other people's property unless they give you permission to use it.

(Information Source: https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/hsc-all-my-own-work/copyright/intellectual-property)

Smartcopying

Smartcopying is the official guide to copyright issues for Australian schools and TAFE. Here you will find comprehensive and useful information to help you respect copyright: https://www.smartcopying.edu.au/

Creative Commons helps you legally share your knowledge and creativity to build a more equitable, accessible, and innovative world. We unlock the full potential of the internet to drive a new era of development, growth and productivity.

You can use Creative Commons tools to help share your work. Their free, easy-to-use copyright licenses provide a simple, standardized way to give your permission to share and use your creative work— on conditions of your choice. You can adopt one of their licenses by sharing on a platform, or choosing a license from the this web page.

To help you easily find reuseable materials, Creative Commons has created a dedicated CC Search portal, search.creativecommons.org. The Search portal lets you search for reusable content — based on keyword, licence type and type of material — all from the Creative Commons website.

Please note that search.creativecommons.org is not a search engine, but rather offers convenient access to search services provided by other independent organizations. CC has no control over the results that are returned. Do not assume that the results displayed in this search portal are under a CC license. You should always verify that the work is actually under a CC license by following the link. Since there is no registration to use a CC license, CC has no way to determine what has and hasn't been placed under the terms of a CC license. If you are in doubt you should contact the copyright holder directly, or try to contact the site where you found the content.

(Information source: https://search.creativecommons.org/)