US Introduces New Copyright Exemptions
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Q&As on who owns copyright
This information is for general guidance only; it is not legal advice.
First read:
| question | date | answer | more | qa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns copyright in a student’s work? | 4/11/09 | Generally, as per the usual rules of copyright ownership, students own copyright in material they create. We are not aware that educational institutions at the primary or secondary levels make any claim to own copyright in their students’ work. There are, however, some situations at the tertiary level where students create material under agreements that alter the general ownership rules. We understand that this is particularly the case in film schools, for example, but we don’t understand this to be common for other TAFE or undergraduate courses. | QA0584 | |
| Who owns copyright when the copyright owner dies? |
Copyright is property, and can be bequeathed in a will like other property. It can be left to one or beneficiaries. If the copyright owner does not leave a will, the copyright will be distributed along with any other property according to the the laws of inheritance (these can vary from state to state). | QA0031 | ||
| Who owns copyright in advertising posters and brochures? |
9/6/2009 |
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, and thus there may be more than one copyright owner. Who owns copyright in each work now depends on who owned copyright when the work was first made, and whether the copyright has subsequently been assigned or inherited. Who first owned copyright will be afffected by whether the author was an employee or freelancer, and what (if any) agreeements there were regarding first ownership of copyright. | QA0507 | |
| Who inherits copyright if it’s not mentioned in a will? |
If a copyright owner dies and leaves a will, but the will does not say who will inherit the copyright, it will usually be inherited by the beneficiary or beneficiaries of the residuary estate (the remainder or residue of the estate after any specific bequests). If someone inherits an unpublished manuscript or artwork under a will, and the will does not specify who inherits the copyright, the person who inherits the manuscript or artwork also inherits the copyright in it. The position is different if the testator (the person who made the will) died before May 1969. | QA0030 | ||
| Can children own copyright? | Yes. Copyright material can be created (and owned) by anyone. | |||
| Who owns copyright in material I upload to a website? |
Ownership of copyright does not change just because you upload something to a website. If you are uploading material to someone else's website, however, and you must agree to terms and conditions before doing so, you need to check the terms and conditions carefully. They may include terms about ownership and use of copyright material – for example, the terms may entitle the website proprietor to allow certain uses of the uploaded material by visitors to the site. If you own copyright in something you have uploaded to a website – such as a photograph, or text you have written – anyone who wants to make a copyright use of it (such as copying the material, or uploading it to another site) needs your permission unless a special exception applies. In some cases, permission can be implied from the circumstances. | |||
| Does a copyright stamp on a photograph mean that the photographer owns copyright? |
1/2/2006 | Not necessarily. If a photographer does not own copyright (for example, because a photograph was commissioned and there was no agreement about copyright ownership with the client), putting the notice on the photograph will not, of itself, transfer copyright to the photographer. A transfer of copyright requires a written document signed by the copyright owner. For a photographer to be the first owner of a commissioned photograph taken before 30 July 1998, the client must have agreed, before the photograph was taken, that the photographer would own copyright. For a photographer to be the first owner of copyright in a photograph commissioned for a “private or domestic purpose” which was taken after 30 July 1998, the client must have agreed, before the photograph was taken, that the photographer would own copyright. (Copyright will automatically be owned by the photographer for a photograph commissioned for any purpose other than a “private or domestic purpose” after 29 July 1998, unless there is an agreement to the contrary with the client.) | QA0398 | |
| How do I prove that I am the copyright owner if there is no system of registration? |
1/2/2006 |
If there is a dispute about who created a copyright work which cannot be resolved by negotiation, it may need to be resolved by a court. A court considers all the relevant evidence when determining a dispute. The most important evidence is usually the creator’s evidence and the evidence of witnesses to the creation of the work. Other evidence may include drafts of the work. Such cases are extremely rare: someone else alleging they own copyright generally runs large financial risks in bringing such a case without any basis. In addition, a person who gives false evidence in court is committing perjury (a criminal offence). | How you get copyright | QA0394 |
| Can I republish a book if the publisher goes out of business? | 6/9/09 | The mere fact that a publisher has gone out of business does not mean that anyone else can then publish that book. In many cases, publishing rights will revert to the relevant authors where a publisher goes into liquidation. In other cases, the rights under the contracts will be part of the assets of the relevant company that the liquidator has to deal with as part of the winding up. | Owners of Copyright: How to Find | QA0565 |