Productivity Commission study on the parallel importation of books
Copyright Society seminar: The Year in Review
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Q&As on copyright for governments
In these Q&As, we assume you are familiar with the basic copyright principles in our introduction to copyright and in our information sheet on governments.
This information is for general guidance only; it is not legal advice.
| Question | answer |
|---|---|
| Can a government put text and graphics from a journal article onto a website? | Yes, if it is for the purposes of the government. It is likely that this use will involve both reproduction and communication of the material. The reproduction of the text and graphics will be covered by the declaration of Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) as the collecting society for government copies. It will, however, be necessary to notify each relevant copyright owner in relation to the communication, and they may require remuneration. |
| Can a government department make multiple copies of an article to hand out to its staff? | Yes, if the copying is for the services of government. Copying any type of text is covered by the declared collecting society, Copyright Agency Limited (CAL), therefore you will not need to notify the copyright owner directly. Records may need to be kept if your department or agency is participating in a sample survey conducted by CAL to determine the extent and nature of copying. |
Who owns copyright in a report commissioned by government? | The contract between the government and the person commissioned to write the report may state which party owns the copyright. If the agreement does not deal with ownership, the government will own the copyright on the basis that the report was written under the direction or control of, or first published by, the government. |
| What copyright information should a government department put on its website? | You should first check whether your government has a policy about the
wording of copyright notices on government material. For example, see
the requirements for copyright notices on Commonwealth publications at www.ag.gov.au/cca (click on “General Information”, then on
“Advice on copyright notices for Commonwealth agencies”). Just as book publishers put copyright notices on their books, people who publish on the web normally have a statement about copyright on their websites. There could be an easily recognisable link to it from each page on the site. There are no special rules about how the statement should be worded, but (unless your government has a statement it requires you to use) it is a good idea for the statement to include the following:
|
| Who owns copyright in material that was funded by a government department? | Generally, the issue of copyright ownership should be addressed in the funding agreement. If there is no specific statement on this point in the agreement between the government and the creator, the answer depends on whether the provision of funding amounts to the government “directing or controlling” the creation of the material. This, in turn, depends on how the funding is provided. One-off grants to incorporated bodies or communities to assist with things such as the setting up of exhibitions and the showing of films, or grants which are part of ongoing support for an organisation's general purposes, are unlikely to constitute control or direction. Where the funding is project-specific, with a greater degree of departmental involvement in the design of the project and its administration, and where further funding depends on satisfactory progress of the project, the government is more likely to own copyright. |