These guidelines are based on information prepared by the Department of Education, Employment and Training, Victoria and apply only to Australian Government Schools because of the conditions of the statutory licenses purchased by the various state and territory education departments. Those who are under the jurisdiction of other education authorities should consult that authority.

The guidelines are offered as a starting point to help school-based staff understand what they must do to comply with copyright laws whilst undertaking their regular teaching duties and should be used in that context.

For a more in-depth analysis or legal interpretation of a particular situation, users are urged to contact the Copyright Officer of your governing education authority. Further information is also available from the Copyright Aware  and  the Australian Copyright Council.

What is copyright?
• Copyright protects the rights of the creators  of original literary, artistic, musical and dramatic works.
• In Australia, protection is provided by the Copyright Act 1968
• Protection is automatic and exists from the time the work is first created.  A creator of an original work does not need to register the work, nor does a work need a copyright notice to be protected.
• After the creator of a work has been dead for 50 years, the work is deemed to be in the public domain and is no longer covered by copyright and may be freely used.  Families and other copyright owners can only renew the copyright of a particular published edition. For example, the original format of A.A. Milne's books about Winnie-the-Pooh is protected but the words themselves are not.
• Copyright rights are reciprocal - under international treaties, most foreign copyright owners are protected in Australia and Australians are protected overseas.
• Copyright protects
  • literary works including novels, poetry, textbooks, song lyrics, instruction manuals, journals and newspaper articles
  • artistic works including drawings, paintings, maps, diagrams, charts, photographs, design drawings and plans
  • musical works
  • dramatic works including plays, screenplays and choreography
  • computer programs
  • compilations including anthologies, directories, databases
  • films including feature films, television programs, television advertisements, music videos
  • sound recordings which are music or voice recorded on CD, DVD or audio cassette
• Copyright laws pertain to economic issues and allow the owner of the rights to determine how, when and where the work will be used so that they may benefit financially. 
• Copyright owners may assign their rights to others, such as an author of an article giving the rights to the publisher of the article.

What are moral rights?

• Moral rights recognise an author's creativity of a work, even if the copyright is held by another party.
• Moral rights are personal and cannot be assigned to a third party or waived.
• Moral rights apply to literary, artistic, musical and dramatic works as well as computer programs, films, television programs and advertisements and other creations.
• They allow
  • the right to attribution of authorship
  • the right to integrity of authorship
  • the right not to have authorship of a work falsely attributed
• All works protected by copyright that were in existence on December 21, 2000 and all works created after that date are entitled to the rights of attribution and integrity. Films created before December 21, 2000 are not protected.
• Moral rights demand that authors must be identified when
  • a work is reproduced in material form
  • a work is exhibited in public
  • a work is transmitted

and this must be done in the way stipulated by the author or other reasonable format that is clear and prominent

• Moral rights mean that a work
  • cannot be distorted, mutilated, materially altered or otherwise treated in a manner that is prejudicial to the author's honour or reputation.
  • must not be attributed to someone other than the creator

Implications

• Teachers must now identify, in writing,  the author of all work that is copied for student use, and this information must be clearly displayed on the copies. It should include the title of the work, the author (and illustrator), the publisher and date of publication. Inclusion of the verso page of a publication constitutes attribution.
• If a worksheet is created that incorporates a variety of sources (such as a poem and an illustration) then both sources must be attributed.
• If a work that is not properly attributed is re-copied without being fixed, then that may be deemed an infringement
• Whilst teachers may adapt song lyrics or text as part of  in-class instruction, if the changes are published in a newsletter, on the Internet or performed in public (which includes parents) then permission to do so must be obtained from the copyright owner.
• Publication of student work in either the school newsletter or Internet site requires parental permission for each instance of publication and this permission is only valid for 12 months. The ACT Department of Education and Community Services has produced a draft pro-forma to obtain this permission, and teachers in other states are urged to make themselves aware of the requirements of their relevant authority.

What are the Five Licences?

Each year state and territory education departments pay for five licences with various authorities so that educational institutions may have a little more freedom within the Copyright Act 1968.  

The cost of these licences is calculated according to the number of FTE (full-time equivalent) students and the licences cover all students in government schools and TAFE institutions throughout Australia.  Currently, the Victorian government pays about $45 000 000 per year for its licences and this is rising each year.

The five licences are:

• Copyright Agency Ltd (CAL) which covers published works and digital works

• Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) which covers print music

• Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) which covers performance

• Screenrights which covers radio, television. satellite and cable broadcasts

• Australian Record Industry Association (AMCOS/ARIA) which covers sound recordings of music

Because these five licences have been negotiated specifically for educational institutions and a fee has been paid, their provisions override those laid down in the Copyright Act 1968 in specific areas.