The Copyright Amendment Act 2006: The Scope and Likely Impact of New Library Exceptions
Australian Law Librarian, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 25-38, 2006
14 Pages Posted: 4 May 2007
Abstract
In December 2006, the latest tome amending the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) was passed by federal parliament: the Copyright Amendment Act 2006 (Cth). This voluminous legislation introduced a variety of amendments to the Copyright Act, many with direct relevance to libraries and other cultural institutions. Prior to that, significant amendments for the sector were introduced by the Digital Agenda Act of 2000. That legislation amended the Copyright Act to make it more responsive to digital and online technologies, for instance by introducing technology-neutral communication rights and a new exception allowing the reproduction of print-based and artistic collection items for 'administrative purposes'. Since then, there has been further amendment of the Copyright Act (including the well-known copyright term extension following the US-Australia free trade agreement ), as well as a review of the digital agenda reforms by law firm Phillips Fox, and an inquiry by the Attorney-General's department into copyright exceptions. Some of the amendments set out in the Copyright Amendment Act 2006 respond to the digital agenda and copyright exceptions reviews.
This article focuses on amendments to statutory exceptions that are most relevant to libraries. These changes can be broadly divided into two types: those that amend existing exceptions (in this case, fair dealing and the libraries and archives provisions) and those than introduce new exceptions ('flexible dealing' and preservation copying for key cultural institutions). This article commences by providing a brief summary of why copyright is relevant to libraries and other cultural institutions, and how statutory exceptions operate within copyright law. It then describes relevant amendments from the Copyright Amendment Act 2006, with particular focus on the new 'flexible dealing' exception. As will be discussed, this exception offers some potential for a greater range of library activities to be performed without copyright licences. That said, licensing arrangements will remain important for many dealings, in particular for reproduction of contemporary published materials, and for what can loosely be described as 'commercial' activities.
Keywords: copyright, library, exceptions, Australia
JEL Classification: K11
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation