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Commonwealth act
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
What this law does, in plain terms
It creates a federal system for copyright in Australia and defines the main kinds of rights protected: copyright in books and written works (s.13), performing rights for dramatic and musical works (s.14), lecturing rights for lectures (s.15), and copyright in artistic works such as paintings and photographs (s.34). The Act sets when those rights start (s.16) and how long they last (s.17, s.36).
It sets default ownership rules: the author is the first owner in most cases (ss.18, 37), but there are specific exceptions where the person who commissioned a work or an employer is treated as the author (portraits and commissioned photographs: ss.38–39; engravings/plates and employee-made instruments: s.40(1)–(2)). Proprietors of encyclopaedias and similar reference works who pay contributors get the copyright (s.21). Joint authors share ownership (s.19).
The Act makes copyright and related rights transferable property: they can be assigned, licensed, and inherited, but assignments must be written and signed (ss.24–26, 44). The Act treats copyright and the physical object (for example, a painting) as separable property (ss.25, 43).
It establishes an administrative structure: a Registrar of Copyrights and a Copyright Office (ss.9–11); registers are to be kept for literary, fine art, and international/state copyrights (s.64). The Registrar may register rights, assignments and licences (ss.63, 65–67), amend registers in prescribed cases (s.72), and certified extracts are admissible in court (s.69).
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Direct links to the current provisions in Copyright Act 1905.
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View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Registration is functionally important. Except for the lecturing right, an owner cannot sue for infringement unless the right or interest has been registered (s.74). To register a book or work of art the applicant must deliver specified physical copies to the Registrar (s.75). The Registrar may refuse registration until those deposit requirements are met (s.75(3)).
The Act provides civil remedies and criminal penalties for infringement. Owners can sue for damages, injunctions or the defendant's profits (s.45). There are provisions for damages assessment (s.46), presumptions about title (s.47), and limitation periods for civil actions (two years) and summary penalty proceedings (six months) (ss.48, 59). The Act empowers seizure, forfeiture and destruction of pirated copies and the means used to make them (ss.49–53, 61). It also creates offences for selling, importing or distributing pirated works with specified penalties and per-copy limits (s.50).
It creates enforcement powers short of litigation: owners or their agents can serve notices to require delivery up of pirated copies (s.53) or forbid performances (s.54); owners may request police to seize suspected pirated copies (s.56). Courts of summary jurisdiction and justices of the peace play roles in warrants, seizure and disposal (s.52). False or knowingly false notices or representations carry criminal penalties, including imprisonment for false ownership claims (s.55) and for false statements to the Registrar (s.76).
The Act includes special provisions: reporting of lectures in newspapers is allowed unless specifically prohibited by notice (s.33); publication or performance in Australia within 14 days of elsewhere is treated as simultaneous (s.5); blasphemous, indecent, seditious or libellous material is excluded from protection (s.6); trusts are not entered on the register (s.68); and the Governor-General may licence republication or performance where works are being withheld after the author's death (s.77).
Why it matters (mechanics and incentives)
Who gains: authors and immediate rightsholders get exclusive economic and control rights (ss.13–15, 34). Those rights permit licensing and generate recoverable remedies on infringement (s.45). International and state-protected copyrights can be given the same federal protection by registration (ss.62–63).
Who bears costs and burdens: rightsholders who want to enforce their rights must register and meet deposit requirements (s.74, s.75), so enforcement involves administrative cost and procedural compliance. Owners pursuing criminal or summary remedies must collect evidence to satisfy magistrates for warrants and seizures (s.52). Persons dealing in works must take reasonable care to avoid unknowingly handling pirated copies to avoid penalties (s.50, s.51). People who receive enforcement notices or police seizure requests face criminal or monetary penalties if notices are issued without just cause (ss.53(2), 54(2), 56(5)).
Trade-offs and practical risks:
Concrete compliance points (examples)
Key statutory citations for the main mechanics: definitions and types of rights (ss.4, 13–15, 34), commencement and term (ss.16–17, 36), ownership rules and assignments (ss.18–26, 37–44), registration and deposits (ss.63–75), remedies and enforcement (ss.45–56, 61), administrative structure and powers (ss.9–12, 72–73, 79).