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Court decides surveyors own copyright in maps and plans
Surveyors own the copyright in the maps and plans they create, the Full Federal Court decided on 5 June 2007.
The court rejected a claim by the NSW Government that it owned the copyright in the plans surveyors created and registered.
CAL Chief Executive Jim Alexander said it was a landmark win for surveyors to have their copyright claim acknowledged.
The court found none of the plans were made under the direction and control of the State of NSW , or first published by the State.
Copyright Agency Limited, whose members include surveyors, made an application to the Copyright Tribunal for a determination under ss 183 and 183A of the Copyright Act and it was then referred for a legal decision to the Federal Court.
However, the court also decided that the State was authorised to use the registered plans under the statutory and regulatory framework without remuneration for surveyors.
It said the entering of data in survey plans on to the States Digital Cadastral Database (DCDB) did not entail a reproduction in the ‘copyright' sense.
Therefore any supply electronically by the State of NSW of any part of the DCDB was not a reproduction of the surveyors' copyright.
“We are disappointed that despite acknowledging the copyright owned by our surveyor members, the court has implied there is a licence by the government to use the surveyors' works without compensation,” Mr Alexander said.
“ CAL is considering the decision and will decide on our next move in the next few weeks,” he said.