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Legal advice service
Legal advice for composers, writers, artists, filmmakers, photographers and other creators
Australian Copyright Council: supporting a creative Australia through information, advocacy and legal advice on copyright
Creators don't usually have the resources to engage lawyers with specialist copyright expertise.
For this reason, the Copyright Council offers a free legal advice service to creators such as composers, writers, artists, filmmakers, designers and photographers who are dealing with copyright issues.
We aim to give you the advice you need so you are well-equipped to decide what steps (if any) you will take next.
The types of advice we commonly give to creators includes advice related to:
Click HERE for information on how you copyright your work.
Our advice service is also available to people working in arts organisations, such as performing arts companies, as well as in educational institutions, galleries, libraries and museums. This advice service primarily focusses on compliance obligations under the Copyright Act and when exceptions may be relied upon.
Note, however, that people working in such organisations may have their own advisers they should contact (see the table below for contact details and links).
Also, as a small, non-profit organisation, there are limits to our legal advice service. We do not, for example:
Before contacting us for legal advice, please look for relevant information on our website.
In some cases where you contact us for advice, we may refer you back to information on our website that we believe should answer your enquiry. Of course, if you think that information on our website is wrong or unclear, please let us know.
If you are a creator or you work in an arts organisation, an educational institution, or a library, museum or gallery, click HERE to begin the enquiry process.
We aim to respond to requests within 5 days, but due to resources issues, it may sometimes take a little longer.
Creators don't usually have the resources to engage lawyers with specialist copyright expertise.
For this reason, the Copyright Council offers a free legal advice service to creators such as composers, writers, artists, filmmakers, designers and photographers who are dealing with copyright issues.
We aim to give you the advice you need so you are well-equipped to decide what steps (if any) you will take next.
The types of advice we commonly give to creators includes advice related to:
- who owns copyright;
- whether you need permission to use someone else's material;
- publishing and commissioning agreements; and
- moral rights obligations.
Click HERE for information on how you copyright your work.
Our advice service is also available to people working in arts organisations, such as performing arts companies, as well as in educational institutions, galleries, libraries and museums. This advice service primarily focusses on compliance obligations under the Copyright Act and when exceptions may be relied upon.
Note, however, that people working in such organisations may have their own advisers they should contact (see the table below for contact details and links).
Also, as a small, non-profit organisation, there are limits to our legal advice service. We do not, for example:
- represent people in court;
- draft letters on your behalf;
- negotiate for you; or
- advise on documents you have drafted yourself.
Before contacting us for legal advice, please look for relevant information on our website.
In some cases where you contact us for advice, we may refer you back to information on our website that we believe should answer your enquiry. Of course, if you think that information on our website is wrong or unclear, please let us know.
If you are a creator or you work in an arts organisation, an educational institution, or a library, museum or gallery, click HERE to begin the enquiry process.
We aim to respond to requests within 5 days, but due to resources issues, it may sometimes take a little longer.
Other sources of legal advice and information
| who | contact | what |
|---|---|---|
| anyone | law societies in each state | referral to lawyers in private practice who specialise in intellectual property |
| creators and arts organisations | Arts Law Centre of Australia | preliminary advice and information |
| the arts community in Victoria | Arts Management Advisory Group | advice and referral service |
| people working in schools and TAFEs | Smartcopying | click "contact us" at the bottom of the Smartcopying website to identify your local copyright manager |
| people working in universities | your institution's copyright officer | copyright advice |
| members of ALIA | ALIA's copyright adviser | copyright advice |