Copyright Act 1968

This Act operates to the exclusion of the Copyright Act, 1911.

For the purposes of section 8 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901‑1966, the Copyright Act, 1911 shall be deemed to be an Act passed by the Parliament of the Commonwealth and to be repealed by this Act, and the enactment of Part XI shall not be taken to affect the operation of section 8 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901‑1966 as it operates by virtue of this subsection in relation to matters to which that Part does not apply.

Subject to subsection (2), this Act does not affect any prerogative right or privilege of the Crown.

Where a right or privilege of the Crown by way of copyright subsists in a work or published edition of a work, a person does not infringe that right or privilege by doing, or authorizing the doing of, an act in relation to the work or edition without the licence of the Crown if, assuming that that right or privilege of the Crown did not subsist in the work or edition, but copyright subsisted under this Act in the work or edition and was owned by a person other than the Crown, the person would not infringe the copyright of that owner in the work or edition by doing, or by authorizing the doing of, that act without the licence of the owner.

Nothing in subsection (2) shall be taken to limit the duration of the right or privilege of the Crown by way of copyright in a work or published edition of a work.

This Act does not affect the right of, or of a person deriving title directly or indirectly from, the Commonwealth or a State to sell, use or otherwise deal with articles that have been, or are, forfeited under a law of the Commonwealth or of the State.

This Act does not affect the operation of the law relating to breaches of trust or confidence.

Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.

A copy of a sound recording is a non‑infringing copy only if it is made by or with the consent of:

the owner of the copyright or related right in the sound recording in the country (the copy country) in which the copy was made; or

the owner of the copyright or related right in the sound recording in the country (the original recording country) in which the sound recording was made, if the law of the copy country did not provide for copyright or a related right in sound recordings when the sound recording was made; or

the maker of the sound recording, if neither the law of the copy country nor the law of the original recording country (whether those countries are different or not) provided for copyright or a related right in sound recordings when the sound recording was made.

If the sound recording is of a work that is a literary, dramatic or musical work in which copyright subsists in Australia, the copy is a non‑infringing copy only if:

copyright subsists in the work under the law of the copy country; and

the making of the copy does not infringe the copyright in the work under the law of the copy country; and

the copy country meets the requirements of subsection (3).

The copy country mentioned in subsection (2) must:

be a party to the International Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works concluded at Berne on 9 September 1886 as revised from time to time; or

be a member of the World Trade Organization and have a law that provides consistently with the TRIPS Agreement for:

the ownership and duration of copyright in literary, dramatic and musical works; and

the owner of the copyright in the work to have rights relating to the reproduction of the work.

For the purposes of subsection (2) it does not matter whether the copyright in the work subsists in Australia as a result of this Act or as a result of the regulations made for the purposes of section 184.

it is made in a qualifying country; and

its making did not constitute an infringement of any copyright in a work under a law of that country.