Crown copyright

Copyright protects much of the creative, cultural, educational, scientific and informational material generated by federal, State/Territory and local governments and their constituent departments and agencies. Governments at all levels develop, manage and distribute a vast array of materials in the form of documents, reports, websites, datasets and databases on CD or DVD and files that can be downloaded from a website. Under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), with few exceptions government copyright is treated the same as copyright owned by non-government parties insofar as the range of protected materials and the exclusive proprietary rights attaching to them are concerned. However, the rationale for recognizing copyright in public sector materials and vesting ownership of copyright in governments is fundamentally different to the main rationales underpinning copyright generally. The central justification for recognizing Crown copyright is to ensure that government documents and materials created for public administrative purposes are disseminated in an accurate and reliable form. Consequently, the exclusive rights held by governments as copyright owners must be exercised in a manner consistent with the rationale for conferring copyright ownership on them. Since Crown copyright exists primarily to ensure that documents and materials produced for use in the conduct of government are circulated in an accurate and reliable form, governments should exercise their exclusive rights to ensure that their copyright materials are made available for access and reuse, in accordance with any laws and policies relating to access to public sector materials. While copyright law vests copyright owners with extensive bundles of exclusive rights which can be exercised to prevent others making use of the copyright material, in the case of Crown copyright materials these rights should rarely be asserted by government to deviate from the general rule that Crown copyright materials will be available for “full and free reproduction” by the community at large.

Copyright future copyright freedom

If copyright law does not liberate us from restrictions on the dissemination of knowledge, if it does not encourage expressive freedom, what is its purpose? This volume offers the thinking and suggestions of some of the finest minds grappling with the future of copyright regulation. The Copyright Future Copyright Freedom conference held in 2009 at Old Parliament House Canberra brought together Lawrence Lessig, Julie Cohen, Leslie Zines, Adrian Sterling, Sam Ricketson, Graham Greenleaf, Anne Fitzgerald, Susy Frankel, John Gilchrist, Michael Kirby and others to share the rich fruits of their experience and analysis. Zines, Sterling and Gilchrist outline their roles in the genesis and early growth of Australian copyright legislation, enriching the knowledge of anyone asking urgent questions about the future of information regulation.

Towards a relational theory of copyright law

This research provides a systematic and theoretical analysis of the digital challenges to the established exclusive regime of the economic rights enjoyed by authors (and related rightholders) under the law of copyright. Accordingly, this research has developed a relational theory of authorship and a relational approach to copyright, contending that the regulatory emphasis of copyright law should focus on the facilitation of the dynamic relations between the culture, the creators, the future creators, the users and the public, rather than the allocation of resources in a static world. In this networked digital world, the creative works and contents have become increasingly vital for people to engage in creativity and cultural innovation, and for the evolution of the economy. Hence, it is argued that today copyright owners, as content holders, have certain obligations to make their works accessible and available to the public under fair conditions. This research sets forward a number of recommendations for the reform of the current copyright system.

Governing a copyright culture in post-WTO China : copyright in the film and music industries, 2001 - 2005

In 2001 China amended its copyright law in accordance with the requirements of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS). This thesis explores the impact of copyright reform on China’s domestic film and music industries. Through extensive interviews with film and music industry workers – directors, producers, executives, judges, lawyers and musicians – it investigates the role of copyright in film and music’s shift from state driven to commercially focussed. The construction and negotiation of a new ‘copyright culture’ in China is examined through the lens of Yurchak’s (1999) concept of ‘entrepreneurial governmentality.’ Administrative structures put in place prior to China’s economic reform are no longer capable of controlling film and music production and consumption and new approaches to managing it are becoming more important. High levels of unauthorised distribution are forcing these industries to adapt their business models so that they can function in a system with weak copyright protection. Legal, economic and political changes have resulted in the emergence of an ‘entrepreneurial governmentality’ among film and music industry professionals. This commercially focussed group is, in turn, increasing pressure on the state to expand the space in which it can function and support efforts to strengthen the copyright system that allows it to exist. It is suggested that the construction and negotiation of a new ‘copyright culture’ is now taking place. This thesis describes the current situation in the film and music industries. It examines the tension between the theoretical possibilities created by copyright law, and the practical challenges of operating in China. It observes innovative business models being applied by film and music businesses in China. It discusses the impact of traditional attitudes to copying and also examines the role that open licensing models might play in helping limit the negative effects of copyright protection on public access to content and in raising levels of education about copyright among key groups within the community.

Copyright enforcement in the networked society : guiding principles for protecting copyright

This paper argues that any future copyright policy should be proportional and flexible and be developed from a clear and evidence-based approach. An approach is required that carefully balances the incentives and rewards provided to economic rights holders against fundamental rights of privacy, self-expression, due process and the user rights embodied in copyright law to protect access, learning, critique, and reuse. This paper also suggests that while adequate enforcement measures are certainly part of a solution to a well functioning lawful, enforcement alone can never solve the root cause of unlawful file-sharing, since it utterly fails to address supply-side market barriers. Focus on enforcement measures alone continues to leave out a legitimate but un-served market demand, susceptible to unlawful alternatives. A competitive and consumer friendly digital content market and an appropriate legal framework to enable easy lawful access to digital content are essential preconditions for the creation of a culture of lawful, rather than unlawful, consumption.

Access, progress, and fairness : rethinking exclusivity in copyright

This article provides a detailed critique of the incentives-access binary in copyright discourse. Mainstream copyright theory generally accepts that copyright is a balance between providing incentives to authors to invest in the production of cultural works and enhancing the dissemination of those works to the public. This Article argues that dominant copyright theory obscures the possibility of developing a model of copyright that is able to support authors without necessarily limiting access to creative works. The abundance that the Internet allows suggests that increasing access to cultural works to enhance learning, sharing, and creative play should be a fundamental goal of copyright policy. This Article examines models of supporting and coordinating cultural production without exclusivity, including crowdfunding, tips, levies, restitution, and service-based models. In their current forms, each of these models fails to provide a cohesive and convincing vision of the two main functions of copyright: instrumentally (how cultural production can be funded) and fairness (how authors can be adequately rewarded). This article provides three avenues for future research to investigate the viability of alternate copyright models: (1) a better theory of fairness in copyright rewards; (2) more empirical study of commons models of cultural production; and (3) a critical examination of the noneconomic harm limiting function that exclusivity in copyright provides.

Copyright in databases in Australia

A database will be protected under Australian law if it is a literary work; expressed in material form; meets the originality test; and has a relevant connection with Australia. Facts and data in themselves are not protected by copyright. However, a collection of data, a dataset, or a database may be protected by copyright if it is sufficiently original. Whether a work is sufficiently original to be protected by copyright depends on whether it has been produced by the application of independent intellectual effort by the author/s, which may involve the exercise of skill, judgement, or creativity in selecting, presenting, or arranging the information. This summary synthesises recent cases regarding originality in factual compilations.

Revising the scope of the copyright "Safe Harbour Scheme"

Submission to the Australian Government Attorney General’s Department consultation paper on Revising the Scope of the Copyright ‘Safe Harbour Scheme’

Sharing environmental data : the role of an information policy framework and copyright licensing

Advances in information and communication technologies have brought about an information revolution, leading to fundamental changes in the way that information is collected or generated, shared and distributed. The importance of establishing systems in which research findings can be readily made available to and used by other researchers has long been recognized in international scientific collaborations. If the data access principles adopted by international scientific collaborations are to be effectively implemented they must be supported by the national policies and laws in place in the countries in which participating researchers are operating.

Juggling information policy, rights to information and copyright licensing to enhance the accessibility and reusability of spatial data : the Australian experience

There is still no comprehensive information strategy governing access to and reuse of public sector information, applying on a nationwide basis, across all levels of government – local, state and federal - in Australia. This is the case both for public sector materials generally and for spatial data in particular. Nevertheless, the last five years have seen some significant developments in information policy and practice, the result of which has been a considerable lessening of the barriers that previously acted to impede the accessibility and reusability of a great deal of spatial and other material held by public sector agencies. Much of the impetus for change has come from the spatial community which has for many years been a proponent of the view “that government held information, and in particular spatial information, will play an absolutely critical role in increasing the innovative capacity of this nation.”1 However, the potential of government spatial data to contribute to innovation will remain unfulfilled without reform of policies on access and reuse as well as the pervasive practices of public sector data custodians who have relied on government copyright to justify the imposition of restrictive conditions on its use.