copyright

Australia's #1 for Law
Join 150,000 Australians every month. Ask a question, respond to a question and better understand the law today!
FREE - Join Now
Copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to make copies of a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself. A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fair use doctrine in the United States.
Some jurisdictions require "fixing" copyrighted works in a tangible form. It is often shared among multiple authors, each of whom holds a set of rights to use or license the work, and who are commonly referred to as rights holders. These rights frequently include reproduction, control over derivative works, distribution, public performance, and moral rights such as attribution.Copyrights can be granted by public law and are in that case considered "territorial rights". This means that copyrights granted by the law of a certain state, do not extend beyond the territory of that specific jurisdiction. Copyrights of this type vary by country; many countries, and sometimes a large group of countries, have made agreements with other countries on procedures applicable when works "cross" national borders or national rights are inconsistent.Typically, the public law duration of a copyright expires 50 to 100 years after the creator dies, depending on the jurisdiction. Some countries require certain copyright formalities to establishing copyright, others recognize copyright in any completed work, without a formal registration.
It is widely believed that copyrights are a must to foster cultural diversity and creativity. However, Parc argues that contrary to prevailing beliefs, imitation and copying do not restrict cultural creativity or diversity but in fact support them further. This argument has been supported by many examples such as Millet and Van Gogh, Picasso, Manet, and Monet, etc.

View More On Wikipedia.org
  1. Red Belly

    VIC Copyright infringement?

    I have a question on COPYRIGHT of a term I believe I coined in early 2023, but today found somone has adopted it and is using it as their twitter name. Their twitter (X) account was opened in January 2024. I call "plagiarism". So can a lawyer here be so kind as to inform me of where I stand...
  2. A

    SA Can I get photographer to remove provocative photos of me that he is selling online? No models realise form signed.

    Wanting to know what rights I have in getting sensitive images of me removed from a website where they are available for sale, and from social media where they are used to advertise the photos for sale. When I was a bit younger and a lot more stupid, I was paid a small amount as a model to have...
  3. A

    VIC Photography copyright - who does it belong to?

    I have recently be made redundant from my role as a marketing associate, and in my previous employment I have taken a large number of photos and videos to use in marketing champions and to make social media posts on behalf of the business I was working for. Question, do I own the copyright of...
  4. K

    QLD Use of caricatures (political figures) in commercial works

    Hi. Wondering if anyone knows the legalities surrounding the use of caricature/parody-type images/illustrations of public figures - mostly in the political arena (either my own or commissioned by me, ie original images) for use in commercially available products, eg. t-shirts, hats etc? Would...
  5. K

    QLD Individual copyright in public domain publication.

    An old Australian periodical uploaded to the National Library of Australia is noted on the site to be public domain. I am wanting to use the art work of a popular cartoonist of the era whose work was sold to the periodical freelance. Is the copyright on the published art work in the public...
  6. S

    Am I breaking copyright laws with my business?

    Hi, I have started a small business which sells customer's pets drawn as Disney inspired cartoons. The name of my store is Disnify. I have a disclaimer on my website that states that my business is not affiliated with Disney. I am wondering if I am breaking copyright laws? My business is Disney...
  7. J_R_Kelly

    Person A make work A. Person B make work B,a work which infringes on copyright of person A. Person C use product B. Did person C do something illegal

    Which did the illegal thing, the person who make's something illegal, the person who consumed it or both? What determines who get legal action against them?
  8. J_R_Kelly

    NSW Does the copying that computers do from the internet, counts as 'reproduce the work ' or a step of them broadcasting the work?

    As far as I know at time of writing, Computers copy down data to from a server to as an example, show a youtube clip. What does this counts as? Is it just a step of the owner of copyright transmitting the youtube clip or is it me illegally copying down the data, because it is done without...
  9. J_R_Kelly

    NSW Is it not the case that every Youtube video that a person watches breaks copyright?

    Greetings. I was researching the concept that maybe watching a video that contains some material that is copyright-infringing, to be more exact, watching a video that contains some seconds of third party stuff is illegal. I had looked at the link below and found some concepts which confused me...
  10. S

    NSW Who owns copyright in home videos filmed with someone else's camera at their request?

    Hypothetical scenario: Person A and Person B are parents watching their kids play soccer on the weekend. Person A pulls out a video camera and asks person B 'would you mind filming the game, as I have to help on the BBQ?' Person B says 'yep, no worries' and films the game on Person A's camera...