In October 2007, the Commonwealth government released a discussion paper looking at the possibility of extending the legal deposit requirement to audiovisual and electronic material.

Section 201 of the Copyright Act requires publishers of “library material” to give a copy of the material to the National Library. The provision essentially applies to printed material.

The discussion paper is confined to deposit of materials with national institutions such as the National Library and the National Film and Sound Archive. It does not cover the similar provisions in state and territory legislation which require the deposit of materials with state and territory bodies such as the state libraries.

Submissions are due by 11 January 2008.

For a link to the discussion paper, click here.