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Frequently Asked Questions


Please email copyright@cqu.edu.au for suggested entries.

General copyright Issues:

Screenrights Licence (Part VA)

CAL Print & Graphic Licence (Part VB)

How long does Copyright last?

Due to amendments brought about by the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) effective 1 January 2005, the duration of copyright for most works has been extended under Australian copyright legislation from the life of the author plus 50 years, to the life of the author plus 70 years. 

(If copyright had expired before 1 January 2005, it will not be revived, even if it is still less than 70 years since the creator's death or the first publication of the material.)

The AUSFTA has changed significantly the copyright duration for photographs. Photographs taken before 1 January 1955 will now be protected by copyright for the life of the creator plus 70 years.

For more information, see the duration table.

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What are moral rights?>

Under Australian Copyright Legislation, creators of copyright material are also provided with what are termed as "non-economic" rights known as Moral Rights. 

Moral rights, introduced into Australia in 2000 to comply with obligations under international copyright treaties, apply to all works and films that were in existence and still in copyright on 21 December 2000, and all works and films (but not sound recordings) created after that date. 

"Due to the personal nature of moral rights, they may not be assigned (i.e. given away to another) or licensed.  It is, however, possible for an author to provide a written consent in relation to certain treatment of his or her work that might otherwise constitute an infringement of moral rights." 

The two key moral rights are:

  • The right of attribution; and
  • The right of integrity.

The right of attribution requires that a work must be correctly attributed to the author whenever it is reproduced, and the right of integrity requires that the work of the author cannot be modified, distorted, or in any other way altered to the prejudice of the author's reputation or professional standing.

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I thought there was an exception allowing use of copyright material in an examination paper? What about if I want to use ‘past' examination papers as ‘resource documents'?

Under the Copyright Act, there is an exception which will allow certain material (literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works) to be copied without infringement as part of a question to be answered in an examination, or in an answer to such a question [Section 200 (1,b)].  Note also this exception applies to paper copies only.

However, the same exception does not apply to the subsequent use of examination papers (containing third party copyright material) when they are supplied as ‘past' examination papers, thus becoming ‘resource documents' for students.  

To facilitate access to these past examination papers as ‘resource documents', the University is required to rely on the Print & Graphic Copying/Communications Licence Agreement (under Part VB of the Act).  Normal guidelines for access under the Licence Agreement will apply [refer Print & Graphic Copying/Communications Guidelines at: Staff Guidelines.

Further information on the University Policy for the Release of Past Examination Papers through Student Administration is available at: http://policy.cqu.edu.au/Policy/policy.jsp?policyid=427

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Is material on the Internet protected by Copyright to the same extent as material in other forms e.g. hardcopy text book?

With material often easily accessible from the Internet, sometimes an assumption is made that the Internet is a "Copyright Free Zone".  This is not the case.  Australian Copyright Law protects material on the Internet in the same way as it protects material in a hardcopy text book, on a CD ROM, or in a video.

Sometimes, the website may have stated terms and conditions stating it may be copied for "educational purposes" or "non-commercial purposes", such as a Creative Commons licence. Depending on the terms of such a licence (in particular whether it can be construed as including the right to communicate on-line, as well as the right to copy), the material may be included in an electronic coursepack or otherwise communicated to students. It would be prudent to keep a print-out of the terms of the licence.

Situations can arise where it may be advisable to email the webmaster for the website e.g. when the Copyright statement that applies to the website is confusing, or seeking permission may be preferred rather than being limited by other allowable options.

See Bulletin#26 for more information on Copying from the Internet - text, images and sheet music.

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I have been advised that ‘sometimes' it is fine to copy more than one article from the same edition of a journal. Is this right?

Yes, It is possible to copy more than one article from a journal. 

Fair Dealing & Library copying
The provision that applies to both fair dealing copying and to copying carried out by the library on behalf of students or researchers allows for copying of more than one article from a single issue of a publication if they are for the "same research project or course of study".

Part VB CAL Licence Agreement
Part VB allows for copying of more than one article from a single issue of a publication for distribution or communication to students if they are on the "same subject matter". 

For print resources, this is limit applies to any one course pack.
For electronic resources, this limit applies university-wide, so all online readings must be delivered through the Library's Course Resources Online, unless specific permission is sought to host the article/articles online elsewhere.

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I have just been advised that I am cannot make multiple copies of a document for students because of a Contract (Terms and Conditions). Why is this so as I thought it was OK to rely on the University Licence Agreement for this copying (Print & Graphic Copying and Communications Licence).

The rapid and continuing growth of digital technology has contributed to the increased use of contracts to set terms and conditions of access to, and use of, Copyright material in the digital environment. As you may be aware, the Act confers a number of rights on Copyright owners to encourage the creation of Copyright material, and provides exceptions to those rights, to maintain the public interest in access to that material. However, the Act is currently silent as to whether contract agreements can displace provisions of the Act which provide for reasonable access to Copyright material (with the exception of s47H dealing with the reproduction of computer programs).

The above situation has become a topic of much debate, to the extent that the Attorney-General's Department ordered an inquiry into the relationship between Copyright and Contract. For further details of the relevance of this debate to CQUniversity, and advice on "how best to access material in the current environment", refer to Copyright Bulletin #10.

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Can 10 per cent of a work be made up of smaller sections from different parts of the document?

Yes, under fair dealing, or when relying on Part VB, you may copy or communicate non-continuous parts of a work, as long as the total number of pages does not exceed 10% of the work.

However, take care if relying on the "insubstantial portions" provision.
As previously, you may photocopy 1-2 pages (or no more than 1% of a work over 200pp) to hand out to students. 14 days must elapse before any more from that work may be distributed. Obviously these would be 'whole pages'.

Amendments to the Act now allow electronic copying of insubstantial portions also. However, the Act makes it clear that copying insubstantial portions in electronic format must be from continuous pages - you may not "cherry-pick" non-continuous passages from a text to make up 2 pages. To do so, you must rely on Part VB, with the appropriate warning notice and recordkeeping when the university is being sampled.

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Do the copying and communication limits apply to the university as a whole, to each member of staff, or each subject being taught?

Photocopying and transmission limits should be applied per course (subject), i.e. regardless of how many lecturers are teaching "Contracts 101" in a given semester, no more than 10% of a work (unless the work is unavailable for purchase within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price) should be photocopied for or electronically transmitted to students by those lecturers (when their copying is aggregated).

However, stricter limits apply to communicating a work by making it available online: these very clearly apply to the university as a whole. This is why ALL electronic documents must be arranged for online delivery through the Library's Course Resources Online (CRO).

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Do the rules relating to the use of journal articles apply to conference proceedings, ie can we use more than one article from a set of conference proceedings provided the articles are for the same research project or the same course of study?

It depends. If conference proceedings are published annually, they may be a periodical publication, and thus it may be permissible to copy more than one article if they are for the same research project or the same course of study. However, most conference proceedings are unlikely to fall within the definition of "periodical publication", with the result that only one article, or 10% of the total pages, can be copied under the Part VB licence.

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A id=10 title=10 name=10>How can we ascertain whether a book is still available or is out of print?

Library staff in Course Resources Online (CRO) can check on your behalf. Please contact them on CRO@cqu.edu.au

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Can the whole of a back issue of a journal be copied on the basis that it is no longer obtainable?

The provisions for copying out-of-print books do not apply to periodicals. Many back issues of journals are available through library databases, and may be accessible that way. Contact the library staff for assistance.

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Can we copy a number of artistic works from a book as long as they make up less than 10 per cent of the book?

Provided that the artistic works intended to be copied have not been separately published, then subject to the proviso which follows, it is permissible to copy all of the artistic works contained in a book: the 10 per cent limit which applies to literary works is not relevant. However, if the book contains words as well as pictures (and is therefore subject to protection as a literary work as well as containing various artistic works), and the words are copied, then it may be that there is an infringement of the literary work if in copying a large amount of photos it is the case that more than 10 per cent of the pages of the book are copied also.

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A book contains text and a number of images. I wish to copy only the images for educational purposes. Is it OK to copy all the images if the total copying does not exceed 10 per cent of the pages in the book? Or can I only copy 10 per cent of the images?

If the copying is confined to the images - and none of the text is copied - then there is a reasonable argument that all of the images can be copied in reliance on Part VB, provided, of course, that the person doing the copying has satisfied himself/herself that the artistic works have not been separately published and are not available for purchase within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price.

A more conservative approach would be to say that as the images are contained in a book, then no more than 10 per cent of the pages in the book can be copied. Such an approach should certainly be followed if any of the text is copied along with the images.

The 10 per cent limit - if it applies at all - applies to the number of pages in the book only, and not to the number of images. There is no provision which would restrict the copying to 10 per cent of the images in the book.

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