Copyright in Library Items

Most items held by the Library and those produced by the Library (such as this website) are protected by copyright. This governs how they can be copied by users.

What is copyright?

Copyright is a type of legal protection for people who express ideas and information in certain forms. The most common forms are: writing, visual images, music and moving images. It permits those people to control how their work is reproduced and used for a set period of time. It is a complex area of law and one which is constantly evolving. The Australian Copyright Council can provide more information:

Australian Copyright Council
PO Box 1986
Strawberry Hills NSW 2012
Phone: 02 8815 9799
Email: info@copyright.org.au
Website: http://copyright.org.au

What items are protected by copyright?

The items which the Library makes available to users fall into several categories:

• The Library may own the item and own the copyright
• The Library may own the item and ownership of copyright has expired
• The Library may own the item but not the copyright
• The Library may not own the item nor the copyright, e.g. it pays a licence fee to a vendor to allow access by the Library's users.

As a user you have to take responsibility for using Library items within the law.

What can be copied?

The Copyright Act allows users to copy Library items for private research, study, review, news reporting or other non-commercial usage without seeking the permission of the copyright holder.  This includes copies obtained by photocopying, printing or downloading of text and images from our website, including the catalogue. There are restrictions on the amount of photocopying which is legally permitted.

What can't be copied?

Any other uses other than study or research purposes require you to seek permission from a copyright holder.

If you wish to reproduce or make use of a copy of a Library collection item for a purpose other than private study and research, it is safest to assume that a work is in copyright and to seek permission from the State Library before proceeding. The Library takes copyright issues very seriously and, like other copyright owners, it reserves the right to prosecute where its rights have been infringed.

If the Library is not the copyright owner, you will need to seek permission from the owner or the appropriate copyright collecting agency such as VISCOPY (Visual Arts Copyright Collecting Agency) http://www.viscopy.com or the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) http://www.copyright.com.au/.