Copyright rules in Australia

Get to grips with the framework of copyright law in Australia with the 2018 TerraLex Cross-Border Copyright Guide.

What are the main sources of copyright law in Australia?

The main source of copyright law in Australia is the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) (Copyright Act). Although the Copyright Act replaced and repealed four previous Copyright Acts (1912, 1933, 1935 and 1963), the previous Acts are still applied today where a work was in copyright immediately before the commencement of the current Copyright Act.

As Australia is a common law legal system, Australian copyright law also draws from a significant body of case law laid down by the courts over the years as they have interpreted and enforced copyright legislation. 

To find out more about subsistence of copyright, ownership, infringement, remedies, enforcement and copyright reform in Australia, download the full chapter below.