Australian Government: Attorney-General's Department
Australian Government: Attorney-General's DepartmentAchieving a Just and Secure Society

Is Australian copyright material protected overseas?

International treaties

Australia is a party to a number of international copyright treaties and conventions including:

  • Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Berne Convention)
  • World Trade Organisation Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement)
  • WIPO Copyright Treaty
  • WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
  • International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations (Rome Convention), and
  • Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of their Phonograms (Geneva Phonograms Convention).

National treatment

International copyright protection is achieved under the conventions through the principle of 'national treatment'. Broadly speaking, each convention member country gives the same rights to the nationals of other convention countries as it gives to its own nationals under its own law. The laws of members of the conventions or treaties must conform with the minimum rights specified in the conventions or treaties.

This means that because Australia is a party to the international copyright conventions outlined above, original works created by Australian citizens or residents are also entitled to the protection given by the copyright laws of all countries which belong to the Berne Convention and TRIPS Agreement. Similarly, Australian performances, broadcasts and sound recordings are entitled to protection by the laws of all countries which are members of the TRIPS Agreement and Geneva and Rome Conventions.

In order to ascertain what copyright protection is available in a particular country, it is necessary to have regard to the copyright laws of that country. It should be noted that in some countries, it is necessary to register a work before it will enjoy full copyright protection.

Bilateral agreements between Australia and other countries

Australia is party to bilateral trade agreements with some other countries, eg United States, Singapore and Thailand. These trade agreements include provisions on protection of copyright. For example, the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement contains extensive obligations on both countries regarding the protection and enforcement of copyright.

Copyright symbol - ©

Use of the copyright symbol was significant when the United States was not a member of the Berne Convention and it would only recognise copyright where the © symbol was used in accordance with the Universal Copyright Convention (UCC). The UCC has been largely overtaken by the other treaties that do not require any formalities. To qualify for copyright protection in countries that are only members of the UCC, it is necessary that works bear, in a prominent place and from the time of first publication, the copyright symbol - © - together with the name of the owner of the copyright and the year of first publication, for example:

© Jane Bloggs 2005

However, using the © symbol, while having little legal effect, alerts others that copyright is claimed in the material in question.

Phonograms symbol - Phonogram symbol (P in a circle) 

Under both the Rome Convention and the Geneva Phonograms Convention, the symbol on copies of a sound recording is recognised as sufficiently indicating a claim to the protection of those conventions in the member countries that require such an indication of claim to protection.