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Copyright Definitions & Terminology

AMCOS

Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society. AMCOS authorises by way of licences, the recording of music and lyrics of its members, the photocopying of sheet music and the reproduction of music and recordings onto the soundtracks of videos such as student films (see also APRA, ARIA & PPCA).

APRA

Australasian Performing Right Association. APRA acts for music composers, publishers and copyright owners and provides licences for the public performance and communication to the public of musical works and lyrics, such as when live and recorded music is performed or played in pubs, clubs and public functions (see also AMCOS, ARIA & PPCA).

ARIA

Australasian Record Industry Association. ARIA can grant a licence to reproduce the soundrecording of the musical works of its members (see also AMCOS, APRA & PPCA).

Broadcast Audio Visual Material

For the purposes of the Part VA of the Copyright Act, broadcast audio visual material refers to television and radio broadcasts. This covers free-to-air, community and pay televsion including transmissions by satellite, microwave and cable and all radio transmissions.

Communication

Communication means to make available online (i.e. upload onto a server in a form that is able to be accessed by students or staff) or electronically transmit (i.e. send as an electronic file or email attachment) to another staff member or to a student of UWA.

Educational Purposes

All copies and or communications must be made by and on behalf of the Univeristy and solely for the 'educational purposes' of the Univerisy. Educational purposes means:

  • used to teach students;
  • making the copy available to students, or communicating to students, as part of a course of study at the University;
  • retention of a copy in the University library (or held by a staff member) as a teaching resource;
  • the administration of students and courses.

Fair Dealing

The Copyright Act allows the copying of copyright material for the purposes of Research and Study or for Criticism and Review providing the use of the material is 'fair'.

  • Criticism or Review - A fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work does not infringe copyright if it is or the purpose of criticism or review. You must provide sufficient acknowledgement of the work copied, identifying the author and the work from which the copy is taken by its title or other description.
  • Research or Study - A fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work does not infringe copyright if it is or the purpose of research or study (see below for definition of research or study). If you copy less than 10% of the pages of a published work in hardcopy form or less than 10% of the words if electronic form) or one chapter, or one article in a periodical then the copying is taken to be fair.
  • Fairness - If you copy more than 10%, one chapter or one article, then in determining whether the copying or communication is a fair dealing you need to consider the following five factors:
  1. The purpose and character of the dealing (eg., copying in connection with a course is more likely to be fair than copying for research which may be used commercially);
  2. The nature of the work (eg., it may be less fair to copy a work resulting from a high degree of skill than a mundane work);
  3. The possibility or obtaining the work within a reasonable amount of time at an ordinary commercial price (generally, it may be fair to copy all of a work such as a book, poem or a photo which is not available commercially, but unfair to photocopy all or most of a work that you can buy);
  4. The effect of the dealing on the potential market for, or value of, the work (eg., making more than one copy is less likely to be fair than making one copy); and
  5. The amount and substantiality of the part copied in relation to the whole work (it is less fair to copy a large or important part of the work than to copy a small or unimportant part).

Moral Rights

Moral rights are rights relating to a creator's reputation in connection with their work. You must give the creator of a literary, artistic, musical, dramatic work or computer program or film:

  • the right of attribution - you should attribute a creator when you reproduce a work or film and it should be clear and reasonably prominent so that the person receiving a reproduction of the work of film will have notice of the creator's identity;
  • the right of integrity - A creator's work should be respected and not subject to derogatory treatment by distorting it or modifying it, nor should you do somethng to a creator's work that is prejudicial to the reputation of the creator;
  • the right of a creator not to have their work faslely attributed - A creator is entitled to take legal action if their work is falsley attributed to someone else.

P2P / Peer-to-Peer

P2P or Peer-to-Peer software facilitates the sharing of files between computer users. Files can be shared between users without the need for one user to email a file to another. For a comprehensive treatment of P2P file sharing see the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee resource paper titled, "Peer-to-Peer File Sharing: the Legal Landscape".

PPCA

Phonographic Performance Company of Australia. PPCA licences the public performance of sound recordings on behalf of record companies. The licences relate to the soundrecording rather than the music and lyrics that are the subject of the soundrecording (see also AMCOS, APRA & ARIA above).

Research or Study

The Australian Copyright Council in their 'Copying for research or study' information sheet give the following guidance:

'Research' means the diligent and systematic enquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover facts or principles... and 'study' includes (1) The application of the mind to the acquisition of knowledge, as by reading, investigation, or reflection; (2) the cultivation of a particular branch of learning, science, or art...(3) a particular course of effort to acquire knowledge....(4) a thorough examination and analysis of a particular subject...

You do not need to be enrolled in a course - you could be researching or studying something for yourself. The copying allowances for Research or Study are contained in the 'Fair Dealing' entry above. 

Substantial Part

Generally, a substantial part of a copyright work can be defined as 'an important part' of the work, for example a part that is distinctive or recognisable. It need not be a large part. For literary works, anything over 1% of the total work will generally be considered 'substantial'.

(For further assitance or information contact the Copyright Officer)
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