Welcome to the
first copyright newsletter of the
Intellectual Property Branch of the Attorney-General's Department for 2001.
Copies of this newsletter (and previous issues) are available on the e-news
on Copyright website at http://law.gov.au/copyright_enews. You may (and please do) forward this newsletter to friends
and colleagues. Information on how to subscribe or unsubscribe is included
below.
The Copyright Amendment Regulations and Copyright Tribunal (Procedure) Amendment Regulations were approved by the Federal Executive Council on 6 February 2001.
The new Regulations update the existing regulations to take account of amendments made to the Copyright Act by the Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda Act) 2000 (the Digital Agenda Act), which received Royal Assent last year.
The new Regulations include:
The regulations will commence, along with the Digital Agenda Act, on 4 March 2001.
Copyright Amendment Regulations 2001 (No 2) and Copyright Tribunal (Procedure) Regulations 2001 (No 1) will shortly be available at
http://scaleplus.law.gov.au (and search the links).
The Digital Agenda Act is available at
http://www.aph.gov.au/legis.htm.
A fact sheet, Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000, is available on the Attorney-General’s Department website at
http://law.gov.au/publications/copyfactsheet/copyfactsheet.html.
MORAL RIGHTS: new legislation protects the moral rights of creators
The Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000 (the Moral Rights Act) came into operation on 21 December 2000. Regulations have also been made to deal with the new moral rights legislation.
The Copyright Amendment Regulations 2001 (No 1) enact new regulations which relate to the notice provisions under s. 195AT of Act. This section provides a defence to an action for infringement of an author's right of artistic integrity for certain acts in relation to buildings and moveable artistic works. The regulations will commence on gazettal (expected to be mid February).
The Moral Rights Act can be accessed at the Parliament House website:
http://www.aph.gov.au/legis.htm.
The Copyright Amendment Regulations 2001 (No 1) will shortly be available at
http://www.scaleplus.law.gov.au (and search the links).
In addition, a fact sheet, Copyright: new law protecting authors’ moral rights, is available on the Attorney-General’s Department website at
http://law.gov.au/publications/moralrights.htm.
Adelaide Digital Agenda Seminar
An information seminar on the digital agenda reforms will be held in Adelaide on 26 February 2001. The seminar will provide a valuable opportunity to become familiar with this important new legislation. It will consist of a briefing from the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department and the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, followed by an analysis from an academic expert in copyright law. It will be hosted by Flinders University in conjunction with Piper Alderman lawyers. Speakers: Ms Carolyn Hough, Principal Legal Officer (Acting), Intellectual Property Branch, Attorney-General’s Department Ms Kylie Browne, Manager, New Technologies section, Intellectual Property Branch, Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Ms Judith Bannister, Lecturer in Law, Flinders University Chair: Professor Andrew Stewart, Professor of Law, Flinders University and Legal Consultant, Piper Alderman Lawyers Date:
Monday 26 February 2001
Time:
Either
1.00 pm - 2.30 pm
Or
5.00 pm - 6.30 pm
(The second seminar is a repeat of the earlier seminar) (Light refreshments will be available after each seminar concludes) Venue:
Piper Alderman Lawyers, 167 Flinders St, Adelaide
To reserve a place at one of these seminars, numbers for which are strictly limited, please contact Alison Hatch, Marketing Co-ordinator, on 8205 3385 or ahatch@piper-alderman.com.au .
Copyright Law Review Committee: final report
The Copyright Law Review Committee’s final report, Jurisdiction and Procedures of the Copyright Tribunal is to be published shortly. It will be available by contacting the Copyright Law Review Committee Secretariat on 02 6250 6076, from Info Products on 02 6215 2506, and on-line at The Copyright Tribunal is a specialist administrative body that arbitrates disputes about collectively administered licences for copyright material. The Committee’s report is the first detailed review of the operation and jurisdiction of the Copyright Tribunal since it was established in 1969. The key recommendation is that the jurisdiction of the Tribunal should be expanded to allow it to deal with disputes over any licence administered by a copyright collecting society concerning all types of copyright material and copyright uses. Under this recommendation, the Tribunal would be more widely accessible to licensors and licensees of copyright material. The report also proposes a range of changes that facilitate access to the Tribunal and ensure that the jurisdiction of the Tribunal is flexible and relevant to uses of copyright material made possible by ongoing technological developments. Some notable recommendations in the final report are that: The report will be considered by the Government as part of its on-going process of copyright law reform.
Applications have been received for the declaration of one or more collecting societies under Part VC of the Copyright Act 1968 which was introduced by the Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000. The Digital Agenda Act will commence on 4 March 2001.
One or more collecting societies, to be declared by the Attorney-General, will collect and distribute the retransmission payments collected under the new statutory licence. It may be necessary to appoint an interim notice holder (see Division 4 of Part VC) to allow the scheme to commence operation on 4 March 2001, whilst a final decision regarding declaration is made.
The Attorney-General has received 2 applications from parties seeking declaration under Part VC. It is expected that either an interim notice holder will be appointed, or a final decision regarding declaration(s) will be made prior to the commencement of the scheme on 4 March 2001.
WHO DO I CONTACT IN THE
IP BRANCH?
1. Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000 and related matters (eg. retransmission of copyright,
information economy matters)
(Contact: Carolyn Hough tel: 02 6250 6326 - email: carolyn.hough@ag.gov.au) 2. Copyright Amendment (Computer Programs) Act
1999 and related matters
(Contact: Carolyn Hough tel: 02 6250 6326 - email: carolyn.hough@ag.gov.au) 3. Moral rights issues
(Contact: Chris Creswell tel.
02 6250 6318 - email: chris.creswell@ag.gov.au) 4. Performers' rights issues
(Contact: Chris Creswell tel.
02 6250 6318 - email: chris.creswell@ag.gov.au) 5. Director's rights issues 6. Competition Review of Intellectual Property
legislation
(Contact: Chris Creswell tel.
02 6250 6318 - email: chris.creswell@ag.gov.au) 7. Protection of arts and cultural expression
of Indigenous People
(Contact: Steven Fox tel. 02 6250 6613 - email: stephen.fox@ag.gov.au) 8. Copyright Law Review Committee (CLRC)
(Contact: Fiona Phillips tel. 02 6250 6658 - email: fiona.phillips@ag.gov.au) 9. Enforcement issues
(Contact: Stephen Fox tel. 02 6250 6613 - email: stephen.fox@ag.gov.au) 10. Copyright Importation issues
(Contact: Stephen Fox tel. 02 6250 6613 - email: stephen.fox@ag.gov.au) 11. WTO, bilateral and regional intellectual property
liaison and cooperation including APEC
(Contact: Stephen Fox tel. 02 6250 6613 - email: stephen.fox@ag.gov.au) 12. Government use and ownership of copyright
(Contact: Fiona Phillips tel.
02 6250 6658 - email: fiona.phillips@ag.gov.au) 13. Copyright Tribunal
(Contact: Fiona Phillips tel. 02 6250 6658 - email: fiona.phillips@ag.gov.au) 14. Collecting Societies and
related issues
(Contact: Chris Creswell tel.
02 6250 6318 - email: chris.creswell@ag.gov.au)
15. Circuit Layouts Act 1989
(Contact: Carolyn Hough tel: 02 6250 6326 - email: carolyn.hough@ag.gov.au) 16. WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related
Rights and other WIPO matters
(Contact: Chris Creswell tel.
02 6250 6318 - email: chris.creswell@ag.gov.au) If you wish to contact the IP
Branch on another matter, please contact our Branch Head Joan Sheedy, Assistant
Secretary (tel: (02)
6250 6313; fax: (02) 6250 5929; email: joan.sheedy@ag.gov.au Michael Argy (tel: 02 62777300) is the officer responsible for copyright matters
in the office of the Attorney-General, Mr Daryl Williams AM QC. For administrative matters, please contact: Rachel Redmond (tel: 02 6250 6076; Fax: 02
6250 5929 email: rachel.redmond@ag.gov.au)
(Contact: Chris Creswell tel.
02 6250 6318 - email: chris.creswell@ag.gov.au)
The IP Branch does not give legal
advice to members of the public. The Branch can provide Government departments and
agencies with legal advice on copyright law matters.
Individual creators with a specific copyright inquiry may be able to obtain
advice from the Australian Copyright Council tel: 02 9318 1788. See also
the Copyright Council website at http://www.copyright.org.au
For information on patents, trade marks and designs contact IP Australia on tel: 1300 651 010 or access information at http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au
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We would also like to hear from you if you have any feedback on this newsletter. Send an email to ip_branch@ag.gov.au.
Attorney-General's Department. Intellectual Property Branch.
e-News on Copyright February 2001.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2000.