The Australian government has proposed a suite of copyright access reforms aimed to better support the needs of Australians in an increasingly digital environment.
The proposed amendments include:
- a new fair dealing exception for non-commercial quotation by cultural and educational institutions, governments and persons engaged in public interest or personal research;
- the introduction of a limited liability scheme for use of orphan works provided a reasonably diligent search is undertaken but fails to identify the copyright owner and the work is attributed to the author (if possible);
- amendments to the library and archives exceptions to allow greater digital access to the materials held by these institutions;
- amendments to education exceptions predominantly concerned with enabling the use of copyright material in online lessons; and
- streamlining of the government statutory licensing scheme.
Covid-19 has accelerated the movement of services online. Therefore, the government is concerned to ensure that the copyright laws keep up with the new reality.
The proposed changes will broaden specific exceptions in limited situations primarily directed to use of copyright works by cultural and educational institutions, governments and persons engaged in public interest or personal research in the online environment. This suggests that the adoption of a broad fair use defence, similar to that available in the US, which has long been sought by digital platforms, will not form part of the reforms. However, whether this is a good result for rights holders will depend on the language of the draft legislation.
The draft legislation is due to be released later this year, so watch this space!
Authors: Caroline Christian, Lawyer; and Nina Fitzgerald, Partner.
