Copyright Act 1968

A person who does, or authorises the doing of, an attributable act in respect of a work does not, because the author of the work is not identified, infringe the author’s right of attribution of authorship in respect of the work if the person establishes that it was reasonable in all the circumstances not to identify the author.

The matters to be taken into account in determining for the purposes of subsection (1) whether it was reasonable in particular circumstances not to identify the author of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work include the following:

the nature of the work;

the purpose for which the work is used;

the manner in which the work is used;

the context in which the work is used;

any practice, in the industry in which the work is used, that is relevant to the work or the use of the work;

any practice contained in a voluntary code of practice, in the industry in which the work is used, that is relevant to the work or the use of the work;

any difficulty or expense that would have been incurred as a result of identifying the author;

whether the work was made:

in the course of the author’s employment; or

under a contract for the performance by the author of services for another person;

if the work has 2 or more authors—their views about the failure to identify them.

The matters to be taken into account in determining for the purposes of subsection (1) whether it was reasonable in particular circumstances not to identify the maker of a cinematograph film include the following:

the nature of the film;

whether the primary purpose for which the film was made was for exhibition at cinemas, for broadcasting by television or for some other purpose;

the purpose for which the film is used;

the manner in which the film is used;

the context in which the film is used;

any practice, in the industry in which the film is used, that is relevant to the film or the use of the film;

any practice contained in a voluntary code of practice, in the industry in which the film is used, that is relevant to the film or the use of the film;

any difficulty or expense that would have been incurred as a result of identifying the maker;

whether the film was made in the course of the employment of the director, producer or screenwriter.