As the owner of a copyright, you are entitled to exclusive rights to use it in any way that you like. As such, if another person misuses your exclusive rights in the copyright, this may constitute copyright infringement. Before working out whether copyright infringement has occurred, it is useful to identify which particular right you are asserting and are claiming has been infringed. This article will explain what your exclusive rights are regarding your copyright, and how to establish that someone has infringed it.
Legal Definition of Copyright in Australia
In Australia, the Copyright Act 1968 confers a bundle of exclusive rights on creators of copyrighted material such as literary works, artistic works and films. Some other key features of copyright are that it:
- includes rights of reproduction, publication and communication;
- provides free and automatic protection in Australia; and
- protects the particular expression of ideas (e.g. the text of a book) rather than the ideas themselves (e.g. the plot or storyline).
Exclusive Rights
As an owner of the copyright in literary, dramatic or musical works, the law provides you with exclusive rights to:
- reproduce the work in a material form;
- publish the work;
- perform the work in public;
- communicate the work to the public; and
- make an adaptation of the work.
In the artistic context, you also have the exclusive right to:
- reproduce the work in a material form;
- publish the work; and
- communicate the work to the public.
Copyright Infringement Factors
Before you claim that copyright infringement has occurred, you need to be able to prove that there has been substantial reproduction of your copyright. You must also show that the final product is similar to your copyrighted work or material.
To determine what is substantial, the quality and quantity of the copied material will be looked at. For example, if a large amount of work has been copied but the quality of the copied work is largely unoriginal, then it is likely that copyright infringement will not be found. However, if a small amount of work has been copied but this small amount presents a high level of similarity to the copyrighted material, then it is likely that copyright infringement will be found in this case.
The objective similarity between your work and the other party’s work will also be considered. In general, the other piece may have alike elements to your one, but these elements must also be similar to your copyrighted material.
Importantly, your copyright cannot protect abstract ideas. It only protects the expression of these ideas in various shapes and forms.
Acts That Do Not Constitute Copyright Infringement
Not every use of your copyrighted work without your consent is an infringement. There are several acts that do not constitute copyright infringement under copyright laws, including the following:
- copying for research or study, criticism or review, parody or satire;
- copying for reporting news;
- reproduction for judicial proceedings or professional advice;
- temporary reproductions made in the course of communication or during a technical process;
- reproducing works in books, newspapers and other publications for private use;
- use by places of education;
- reproduction of labels for a chemical product; and
- reading or recitation in public or for a broadcast.
Furthermore, if someone has only used an insubstantial, unrecognisable, or unimportant part of your creative work, it may not be an infringement.
This fact sheet outlines your rights and obligations as an AI artist regarding intellectual property and copyright.
Key Takeaways
Copyright protection in Australia is given freely and automatically, but it only protects your ideas as expressed in a material form. With copyright protection, you have exclusive rights to your creative work and can defend it from being improperly copied by other parties. To show that another party has infringed on your copyright, they must have:
- substantially reproduced your copyrighted material in their own work; and
- have a final product similar to your own copyrighted work.
Importantly, you cannot claim infringement if the copied material is something you have derived from someone else.
If you have questions about copyright infringement, contact our experienced intellectual property lawyers as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
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