Copyright Owner Rights

Contributed by Australian Copyright Council and current to May 2022

Copyright owners have a number of exclusive rights over their material (see s 31 for works and ss 85 – 88 for other subject matter). Anyone who wants to use someone else’s material in any of the following ways generally needs permission from the copyright owner (or collecting society managing those rights).

Reproduction right

The right of reproduction is the exclusive right to make a copy of the work. The technology used to make the copy does not matter - photocopying, copying by hand, filming, recording, scanning, or copying a digital file will all be a reproduction.

Publishing right

The right to publish is the exclusive right to make the work public for the first time.

Public Performance right

The right of public performance is the exclusive right to cause the work to be seen or heard in public. Generally, ‘in public’ refers to areas outside of home. Examples of performance include reading books aloud to a group of people, performing a play or song, playing sound recordings and screening movies at venues or workplaces.

Communication right

The right of communication is the exclusive right to communicate the work to the public for example, by email, broadcasting, cable or the internet.

Adaption right

The right of adaptation is the exclusive right to make an adaptation of a work e.g. turning a novel into a screenplay or film, making a translation of a work, or remixing music or an artwork.

Broadcast right

The broadcast right is the exclusive right to transmit something on a broadcast signal and includes the right to re-broadcast.