Copyright Act 1968

Seized copies forfeited to the Commonwealth must be disposed of:

in the manner prescribed by the regulations; or

if no manner of disposal is so prescribed—as the Comptroller‑General of Customs directs.

However, copies forfeited under section 135AEB must not be disposed of until 30 days after their forfeiture.

Subsection (1) does not require the disposal of copies that are required in relation to an action for infringement of copyright.

Despite the forfeiture of seized copies to the Commonwealth, a person may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction under this section for compensation for the disposal of the copies.

A right to compensation exists if:

the copies did not infringe the objector’s copyright; and

the person establishes, to the satisfaction of the court:

that he or she was the owner of the copies immediately before they were forfeited; and

that there were circumstances providing a reasonable excuse for the failure to make a claim for the release of the copies.

If a right to compensation exists under subsection (4), the court must order the payment by the Commonwealth to the person of an amount equal to the market value of the copies at the time of their disposal.