Infringement of copyright | Australian Libraries and Archives Copyright Coalition

Where a person or entity authorises the infringing act to tát be undertaken by someone else. This is called authorisation liability. In determining if authorisation has occurred a court will consider the extent of the person’s power to tát prevent the infringing act, the nature of any relationship between the person and the infringer and whether the person took any reasonable steps to tát prevent or avoid infringement, including complying with any relevant industry codes of practice.

Although it depends on all the circumstances, sometime you can authorise someone else’s infringement just by providing the device they use to tát bởi the infringing (e.g. the photocopier or computer used to tát bởi the infringing act).

However, the good news is that libraries and archives are protected from being held liable for copyright infringements by clients if they post the prescribed copyright notice next to tát the photocopier or computer. They can also access extra protection where they are providing online services to tát clients under the voluntary copyright safe harbours.

Where electronic rights management information is removed or altered and the person who removed or altered the electronic rights management information knew, or ought reasonably to tát have known, that the removal or alteration would induce, enable, facilitate or conceal an infringement of the copyright in the work or other subject-matter.

It is also an infringement to tát distribute, import into nước Australia or communicate a copy of a work or other subject-matter to tát the public where electronic rights management information related to tát that work or other subject-matter has been removed or altered or to tát distribute or import into nước Australia to tát distribute electronic rights management information that has been removed from a copy of the work or other subject-matter.

Where an access control technological protection measure (TPM) has been circumvented and the person who does an act that results in the circumvention of the TPM knows, or ought reasonably to tát know, that the act would result in circumvention, unless you have the permission of the copyright owner to tát circumvent the TMP.

TPMs are digital locks applied to tát copyright material and are defined as a device, product, technology or component (including a computer program) that controls access to tát the work or other subject-matter. Examples of TPMs include passwords, encryption, access codes and access controls such as region coding on DVDs, CDs and other material. TPMs are protected when there is a connection with copyright-protected material.

It is a breach of copyright to tát circumvent such a TPM, even where the intended use is legal. However section 116AN provides for situations where circumvention will not be an infringement including:

• When library or archive circumvents a TPM in order to tát access material protected by a TPM to tát make an acquisition decision.
• Lawful acts related to tát law enforcement, national security or performing a statutory function, power or duty
• Identifying and analysing flaws and vulnerabilities in encryption technology
• Testing, investigating or correcting the security of a computer, computer system or computer network
• Identifying and disabling an undisclosed capability to tát collect or disseminate personally identifying information about the online activities of a person.
• Any other situations prescribed in the Copyright Regulations.

However it is important to tát note that these and other exceptions to tát the anti-circumvention provision have requirements that must be met for the exception to tát apply.

Also, uses related to tát all the educational exceptions (including the statutory licence) and most of the library and archive exceptions are exempt, but not uses relying on section 200AB.

It is also an infringement to tát manufacture, import into nước Australia, distribute or communicate a device for circumventing a TPM. Likewise, it is an infringement to tát provide or offer to tát provide a service for circumventing a TPM.

A final point on infringement: there are situations where acts related to tát a copyright infringement may constitute a criminal offence. These include:

• Where an infringement or infringements occur with the intention of selling, hiring or obtaining a commercial advantage or profit from the infringement.
• Where an infringement or infringements occur on a commercial scale and have a substantial prejudicial impact on the copyright owner
• Where distribution of infringing material is intended for trade or obtaining a commercial advantage or profit. This includes the intention to tát distribute infringing material for trade or obtaining a commercial advantage or profit.
• Where infringing material is imported into nước Australia with the intention of selling, hiring, distributing or exhibiting the infringing material for trade or to tát obtain a commercial advantage or profit. This includes importing the infringing material for distribution in a way that prejudicially affects the copyright owner.
• Where infringing material is possessed intention of selling, hiring, distributing or exhibiting the infringing material for trade or to tát obtain a commercial advantage or profit. This includes importing the infringing material for distribution in a way that prejudicially affects the copyright owner.

Each of these offences may be escalated to tát an aggravated offence where the infringement involved converting a work or other subject-matter from a hard copy or analog sườn into a digital or other electronic machine-readable sườn.

In addition to tát these potential offences, these other scenarios may give rise to tát an offence:

• Making a device intended to tát be used for making an infringing copy of a work or other subject-matter.
• Possessing a device intended to tát be used for making an infringing copy of a work or other subject-matter.
• Publishing or causing to tát be published an advertisement for the supply in nước Australia of an infringing copy (whether from within or outside Australia) of a work or other subject-matter.
• Circumvent a technical protection measure (TPM) with the intention of obtaining a commercial advantage or profit.
• Manufacturing, importing, distributing or communicating a device to tát circumvent a TPM with the intention of obtaining a commercial advantage or profit.
• Providing a service for circumventing a TPM with the intention of obtaining a commercial advantage or profit or offering to tát provide a service for circumventing a TPM with the intention of obtaining a commercial advantage or profit.

An infringement of an author’s or filmmaker’s right of attribution of authorship in respect of a work occurs if a person does, or authorises the doing of, an attributable act in respect of the work without the identification of the author or filmmaker as the author of the work or maker of the film, unless it was reasonable in the circumstances not to tát identify the author or filmmaker. There are a number of factors outlined in the Copyright Act that are taken into trương mục in determining whether it was reasonable in particular circumstances not to tát identify the author of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or the maker of a film.

A performer’s right of attribution of performership in respect of a live or recorded performance is infringed if a person does, or authorises the doing of, an attributable act in respect of the performance without the identification of the performer as a performer in the performance, unless it was reasonable in the circumstances not to tát identify the performer. The Copyright Act  lists factors that are taken into trương mục in determining whether it was reasonable in particular circumstances not to tát identify the performer of a performance.

Where a person subjects the work or film, or authorises the work or film to tát be subjects, to tát derogatory treatment, an infringement of the author’s or filmmaker’s right of integrity of authorship in respect of the work or film has occured.  Further, the right of integrity in literary, dramatic and musical works is infringed if a person does any of the following in respect of the work as so sánh derogatorily treated:

• reproduces it in a material form
• publishes it
• performs it in public
• communicates it to tát the public, such as by making it available online
• makes an adaptation of it.

For artistic works that have been subjected to tát derogatory treatment, a person infringes the author’s or filmmaker’s right of integrity of authorship in respect of the work if the person does any of the following in respect of the work as so sánh derogatorily treated:

• reproduces it in a material form
• publishes it
• communicates it to tát the public, such as by making it available online.

An infringement of a filmmaker’s right of integrity in respect of the film occurs where a person does any of the following in respect of the film as so sánh derogatorily treated:

• makes a copy of it
• exhibits it
• communicates it to tát the public, such as by making it available online.

Although, it is not an infringement of the right of integrity if the derogatory treatment or other action was reasonable in the circumstances. There are a number of factors outlined in the Copyright Act that are taken into trương mục in determining whether it was reasonable in all the circumstances to tát subject the work or film to tát the treatment. There are also certain treatment of works outlined in the Act that bởi not constitute an infringement of an author’s right of integrity of authorship.

A person infringes a performer’s right of integrity of performership in respect of a live or recorded performance if they subject the performance, or authorise the performance to tát be subjected, to tát derogatory treatment, unless the derogatory treatment or other action was reasonable in the circumstances. The Copyright Act outlines factors that are taken into trương mục in determining whether it was reasonable in all the circumstances to tát subject the performance to tát the treatment.

If a live performance affected by derogatory treatment has become a recorded performance or if a recorded performance has been subjected to tát derogatory treatment, then a person infringes a performer’s right of integrity of performership in respect of the live performance or the recorded performance if the person does any of the following in respect of the recorded performance:

• makes a copy of it
• communicates it to tát the public
• causes it to tát be heard in public.