US Introduces New Copyright Exemptions
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Q&As on how long copyright lasts
April 2009
More:
This information is for general guidance only; it is not legal advice.
First read:
- copyright basics webpage
- Duration of copyright information sheet
- Works in the public domain webpage
| question | date | answer | more |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What does 'in the public domain' mean? |
In
Australia, the term 'in the public domain' usually refers to material
in which copyright has expired. The term is also sometimes used in
other countries to describe material that is excluded from copyright
protection under the copyright law of those countries. For example,
certain US government documents are not protected by copyright in the
US, because of special provisions in US copyright law. |
QA0608 |
||
| Which newspapers, magazines and journals are in the public domain? | Material in which copyright has expired is referred to as being in the “public domain”. Newspapers, magazines and journals usually contain works by many different authors (creators). These works include news reports, opinions, letters to the editor, cartoons and photographs. The period of copyright protection is, in most cases, measured from the death of the author, even if the author did not own copyright. Each work may therefore have a different period of copyright protection. If the work was first published anonymously and the identity of the author cannot be ascertained on reasonable inquiry, then the period of copyright protection is measured from the year of publication (rather than the year of the author's death). Copyright in a newspaper has expired if:
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| When does copyright in advertising posters and brochures expire? |
Posters
and brochures may contain more than one copyright work – for example,
each photograph and illustration may be a separate copyright work, and
the text may be another copyright work. The works may have different
authors, but in most cases the authors will not be identifiable.
If the work was first published
anonymously and the identity of the author cannot be ascertained on
reasonable inquiry, then the period of copyright protection is measured
from the year of publication (rather than the
year of the author's death). Copyright in a poster or brochure has expired if:
|
QA0635 |
||
| What happens when copyright expires? | Once all copyright has expired, anyone can use that material without
infringing copyright, and permissions are no longer needed. If a person
is paying for the use of copyright material (for example, by
royalties), there will be no basis in copyright law for continuing
these payments. In some cases, however, they might have obligations
under a contract to keep paying to use material. In some cases, other laws may also be relevant. For example, if copyright in a logo has expired but the logo is still being used as a trademark, reproducing the logo won’t infringe copyright but may infringe the trademark. |
QA0269 |
||
| Can I use a work that is still in copyright overseas, if copyright has expired here? | If
you are using material in Australia, then Australian copyright law
applies. For example, if copyright in a photo has expired in Australia
because it was taken, say, in 1926 or 1953, then you may reproduce it
in a book in Australia. If, however, you wanted to print or distribute
the book overseas, you would need to check that copyright in the
photograph has expired in each country where the book is to be printed
or distributed. The same rules apply to material in electronic form and
on the internet in Australia. The law of the relevant country will determine the rules that apply to the use of material outside Australia. We are unable to advise on the rules that apply overseas. |
QA0272 |
||
| How do I work out whether something is “published” for copyright purposes? | You
will see from the duration tables in our Duration of copyright information sheet that, in many cases, the event that
triggers the “copyright countdown” is the publication of the material.
In this context, something is “published” if copies have been made
available to the general public, whether by way of sale or otherwise.
(As noted in the tables, in some cases the countdown can also be
triggered by the material being “made public” by being performed,
broadcast or recorded and sold.) In many cases, if something is not
“published”, copyright continues indefinitely. The material has to have been made available with the permission of the copyright owner. If the material has been circulated without permission, or copies have been made by an educational institution, government or library relying on the Act, the material will not have been “published”. The fact that something is held in the collection of a library or a public institution does not mean that it has been “published” in the sense relevant to duration of copyright. |
Duration of copyright information sheet |
QA0274 |
|
| How long does copyright last if a company is the copyright owner? |
For
companies and other organisations other than government, duration of
copyright is generally determined by reference to an individual
creator’s lifetime, even if that person never owned copyright (for
example, because they created the material as an employee). In
particular, there are no copyright duration rules that depend on how
long a company lasts. |
QA0273 |
||
| If copyright in a work has expired, can you revive copyright by republishing it? | Once
copyright has expired, it cannot be revived by subsequent publication
or in any similar way. Copyright can only be renewed or extended if the
parliament amends the Act (as it was obliged to do as part of its
obligations under the AUSFTA). A publisher who publishes an edition of a “public domain” work (such as the poems of Keats) may own copyright in the typographical arrangement of that particular edition (and thus be able to prevent another publisher making an exact copy of that edition). However, the copyright in the work itself (in this case, the poems) is not revived by republishing; anyone can still reproduce all or parts of it. |
QA0270 |
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| Is there a list of works in the public domain? | The Copyright Council does not keep a list of public domain works, and we are not aware of such
a list in Australia. Generally, if you want to know whether something
is in the public domain, you need to apply the rules in the Act to the
particular case. You may need first to find out information such as who
the creator was, when the creator died and whether the work was first
published during the creator’s lifetime. AMCOS (Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society) publishes a list of Christmas carols on its website with information about their copyright status and ownership. The list is updated annually. |
AMCOS webpage: Christmas songs and carols |
QA0271 |
|
| How do I find out what music is in the “public domain”? | 1/2/2008 |
Material in which copyright has expired is said to be in the “public domain”. Generally, you will need to apply the various rules relating to duration of copyright to work out whether or not copyright has expired. There is no comprehensive list of musical works in the public domain in Australia. AMCOS compiles a list of Christmas carols and similar works and their copyright status. The list is available on AMCOS’s website. AMCOS and the bodies that license church music also have extensive databases and lists which may help you work out whether or not a work is still protected by copyright. Often, however, you will need to consult music reference books (available in public libraries) to find the necessary information about when a composer or lyricist died. |
AMCOS webpage: Christmas songs and carols |
QA0256 |
| Can I sell copies of material that has fallen into the public domain for a profit, or are there restrictions on benefiting from material in which copyright has expired? | 14/7/2009 | Once copyright has expired, you can reproduce and use that material as you wish, whether for a profit or otherwise. For example, you can publish a book containing Keats’ poetry; you can record someone reading a Jane Austen novel; and you can make postcards using Matisse’s artworks. In each case, you can sell these for profit. You will not, however, be able to stop anyone else doing the same, unless they are using something that you have created and in which you own copyright, such as your typesetting or layout or your sound recording. |
QA0543 |