A summary of new copyright changes

There have been major changes in copyright law and its implementation in recent times to keep pace with changes in how people are using information, and to reflect advances in communication technology.

The areas of change are briefly detailed below, please follow the links for further information on these issues.

1. Digital copyright law and the Electronic Reproduction and Communication Licence

The most comprehensive reform to the Copyright Act in 30 years was introduced in 2001. The Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000 makes certain that both digital content and electronic publishing and transmission of content are within the ambit of copyright law. For schools the changes also mean a new electronic use licence, which covers reproducing and communicating of electronic materials. It also permits the digitisation of hard copy material, for example, a newspaper article can be scanned and made available on the school intranet.

2. The Hardcopy Licence

The Copyright Tribunal in 2002 determined a new charging structure for schools using copyright materials, under the statutory provision of the Copyright Act. Basically the new charging regime means:

• a per page rate for copying replaces the previous per student rate;
• differential charging based on type of material being copied and the durability of the copy for example, poetry and artworks will cost more per page than text;
• a backdating of the new charging regime to 1997, which incurs large retrospective payments for peak bodies.

3. Moral rights

In the past copyright law has dealt only with the economic rights of copyright owners. The Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000 creates a new legal dimension of personal rights. These rights concern attribution of creative work and honouring of its integrity. For schools this means working more assiduously to develop a culture of respect for copyright materials.