Copyright Act (1968)


 * Federal (commonwealth) act
 * Recognizes that any original work is the property of the person who created it


 * Protects all original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works from unauthorized reproduction
 * Since 2000, also protects digital works (software, electronically recorded music, films, books, websites, etc.)
 * The owner of copyright in a work is the only person who has the right to make or authorize reproductions or adaptions of the work
 * In Australia, copyright protection is automatic, and applies whether or not the work has a copyright statement or the © symbol

Copyright Holders...

 * have control over how and when material is communicated or published
 * can use technological devices to protect material (e.g. encryption, copy protection)
 * are encouraged to include a statement about their copyright restrictions
 * usually must give permission before their material can be used or transmitted

Individuals...

 * cannot digitize a non-digital work (e.g. scan books, rip LPs to MP3s)
 * cannot make or import decoding devices that bypass copyright protection
 * cannot tamper with a copyright notice in an electronic document
 * cannot share copyrighted material under some conditions for educational or review purposes
 * can use copyrighted material under some conditions for educational or review purposes. For example, copying 10% or one chapter of a reference-type book