Copyright protection is free and automatic; there is no requirement to register or to go through any other formal procedure. A computer program is protected from the moment it is fixed in a “material form”—for example, on a hard disk or on paper. It is a good idea to put the copyright notice (see above under the heading “How do you get copyright?”) on your program to warn others that it is protected and that you own the rights in it.

In addition to copyright protection, you may also want to consider technological measures such as “copy protection” or encoded information to inhibit or discourage unauthorised copying.

In some cases, patent protection may be available for aspects of computer programs. For information about patent protection, see the website of IP Australia or contact a patent attorney.