What do you think?
Jamal took a photo of his grandma at a birthday celebration held at his aunty's house.
Who do you think owns the copyright of the photo?
How are works protected?
So, as we learned earlier, copyright starts when something original is created in material form. However, not every copyright protection is identical.
Each copyright can have different:
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copyright owner(s): copyright can be owned by multiple people or companies.
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duration: copyright lasts for a limited time, usually long after the death of the authors.
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exclusive rights: an owner’s rights will depend on the type of work created.
Tip
You don't need to register your works to gain copyright protection. Copyright applies automatically when an original work is created.
Who owns copyright?
Copyright is usually owned by the creator in the first instance, however copyright can be shared, sold, given or contracted away.
Unless you have signed a contract to state otherwise, the copyright in material that you create, will belong to you.
Special relationship:
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employees: usually your employer owns any copyright created in the course of your work.
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commissioned works: if you pay someone to create a copyright work for you, then copyright is owned by you. This is often varied by agreement.
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joint authorship: if two of more people author a copyright work, each person has a separate and independent copyright.
How long does copyright last?
In Australia, copyright generally lasts for the life of the author, plus 70 years. Duration can be affected by many factors, but a good rule of thumb to use is a work less than 50 years old will likely be in copyright.
To find out if a work is out of copyright, you can check the Duration of copyright table available from the Australian Government.
What happens when copyright ends?
The public domain refers to creative works which are no longer controlled by copyright. The owner’s rights may have expired or been forfeited. Anyone can use a public domain work without obtaining permission.
What are the rights of a copyright owner?
An owner of copyright has exclusive rights to control how their works are used by other people. Unless an exception applies or a licence has been granted, copyright owners will have the following legally enforceable rights over their work:
- to reproduce (to make a copy)
- to publish (supply copies to the public)
- to perform publicly (perform a play or play a film/sound recording to the public)
- to communicate (to make it available online or electronically)
- to make adaptations (a translation or dramatised version of a literary work; an arrangement of a musical work).
Often the copyright owner and the author are not the same person. A copyright owner often has the right to restrict how an author can re-use their own work.
Activity: Who owns the copyright?
Read this news article about Clive Palmer using a Twisted Sister rock song, and then answer the question below.
What do you think now?
Who can use the photo of Grandma?
Jamal can. He took the photo, so he is the creator and therefore owns the copyright. Not Grandma and not his aunty.
Jamal can make copies or turn it into a postcard or a mug (but he should really check with his grandma first to see if she minds). Other people can't use Jamal's photo without his permission until 70 years after his death.