You can copy an unpublished written, artistic or musical work whose author has been dead for more than 50 years for a client who needs the copy for research or study, for example.

There are similar provisions for unpublished films and sound recordings made more than 50 years ago. (The application of these provisions to films is complex, however, and you may want to consider seeking further advice if relying on these provisions to copy a film.)

You can also copy a manuscript or other original version – such as a painting, first copy of a film or first copy of a sound recording – to supply to a person for research on the library’s premises or on the premises of another library. In these cases, it doesn’t matter whether or not the material has been published, provided you are copying a manuscript of other “original”.

Note also that a client may be able to rely on fair dealing provisions in the Copyright Act (for example, for the purposes of research and study) to copy the material themselves.

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Collecting institutions could be liable for copyright infringements by clients if they “authorise” the infringement. This could be done by encouraging visitors to copy, photograph or film copyright material in the collection, or by making copying equipment such as photocopiers available to the public without warning them against infringement. To protect yourself against such claims, you should put warning notices on copying equipment such as photocopiers and computers.

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Sculptures and works of artistic craftsmanship on permanent public display may be photographed, drawn and filmed without permission. Unless they can rely on other provisions in the Act or copyright has expired, clients will, however, generally need permission from copyright owners to photograph other public art, such as murals.

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As owner or controller of its premises, a collecting institution can determine the extent of access that will be given to works in the collection by members of the general public and others – it is not obliged to allow people to use material in any particular way.

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Photographs of artistic works may contain two separate copyrights: copyright in the artistic work (for example, a painting) and copyright in the photograph of the artistic work. Permission will generally be needed from the owner of copyright in the artistic work (unless the copyright has expired). As noted earlier, a photograph that simply reproduces the entire artistic work may not be separately protected by copyright.

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If the other collecting institution owns copyright in a work in its collection, you will generally need permission from it to reproduce the work. In some cases, a collecting institution charges an “access fee” to reproduce works in its collection, even if it does not own copyright or the copyright has expired. If a collecting institution has requested a fee, you may wish to check what the fee is for.

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