The Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) has recently been changed to take account of the use of current and future technologies. These changes came into effect from 4 March 2001.

This information deals with those changes that will affect educational institutions and the copying they do under the statutory licences.

• What are the changes?
• What does this mean for educational institutions?
• When and how do the new licences start?
• Which licence do you need?
• Changes to the existing hard copy licence for educational institutions
• The new Electronic Reproduction and Communication licence for educational institutions
• How much can be reproduced from electronic originals?
• What will we be able to communicate?
• More information

what are the changes?

There are two major changes to the Act affecting educational institutions. First, creators have been given a new right controlling the use of their work electronically. This includes making works available online and is called the right of communication to the public.

In addition, the educational licence has been extended to permit reproductions other than in hard copy format, and the communication of works to the public.

what does this mean for educational institutions?

The Act now contains two educational licence schemes for the copying and communication of works by educational institutions. These licences are:

• The Hardcopy licence (ie the former print copy licence that many educational institutions already rely on)

This licence will apply to copies made from a hard copy document. This can include both paper to paper copies and paper to electronic copies. To rely on or copy under this licence, you will need to send Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) a Remuneration Notice. This Notice must specify whether the amount of equitable remuneration is to be assessed on the basis of a record or sampling system.

• The Electronic Reproduction and Communication licence

This licence covers reproduction in an electronic form (eg. digital to digital) and communication of copies in electronic form (eg. for example, posting copies on an intranet). To copy under this licence you are required to send CAL an Electronic Use Notice specifying that the amount of equitable remuneration is to be assessed on the basis of an electronic use system.

Educational institutions may choose to rely on both or either licence, depending on their needs.

when and how do the new licences start?

The changes commenced on 4 March 2001, however, some operational aspects of the scheme are still being finalised. These include:

• Regulations
  The regulations applying to the Hardcopy licence are essentially unchanged. There are new regulations which apply to the Electronic Reproduction and Communication licence. The administering body of an educational institution must follow the two procedures following provision of an Electronic Use Notice.

• Declared collecting society
  As the new licence is included in Part VB of the Act, for which CAL is already the declared society, CAL will also administer the new scheme on behalf of copyright owners.

• Relying on the licence
  The Electronic Reproduction and Communication licence requires the administering body (such as a State Department of Education) or the educational institution (such as an independent educational institution) to send an Electronic Use Notice to CAL.

• Equitable Remuneration
  The legislation provides for the educational institution and the collecting society to agree upon payment rates for the Electronic and Communication licence. If no agreement is reached, then the Copyright Tribunal will determine the rate independently.

which licence do you need ?

You may need one or both.

• To copy from paper to paper and/or paper to digital:

Educational institutions need to undertake the Hardcopy statutory educational licence under Part VB of the Copyright Act by providing CAL with a Remuneration Notice based on a sampling or records system.

• To copy from digital to digital, digital to paper and/or to communicate electronically:

Educational institutions need to undertake the Electronic Reproduction and Communication statutory educational licence under Division 2A, Part VB of the Copyright Act by providing an Electronic Use Notice.

changes to the existing hard copy licence for educational institutions

The existing education copying licence, now referred to as the Hardcopy licence, has been amended by explicitly limiting reproductions from a hardcopy or analog form. This includes reproductions from paper to paper and from paper to digital.

It is now clear that, within the copying limits, the following reproductions come within this licence scheme:

• Scanning from paper; and
• Re-keying paper copies and storing them in a digital medium.

The important element is that the original must be paper-based, therefore this licence does not permit reproductions from digital to digital – for this you must have the new Electronic Reproduction and Communication licence.

Further information on this licence scheme can be obtained from CAL’s Licensing Department.

the new Electronic Reproduction and Communication licence for educational institutions

This licence deals with an original electronic work and allows educational institutions to reproduce and communicate it to their staff and students. Note that the work must already be in an electronic form.

The electronic use system has not yet been determined and will most likely vary from educational sector to educational sector. If you intend to rely on this licence, you should contact CAL to see which system applies to you.

In summary, this new educational licence:

• Provides for the reproduction from an electronic form of a work;
• Provides for the communication of a work in an electronic form;
• Provides for the reproduction of a reasonable portion (see table below);
• Provides for the educational institution and CAL to agree on matters and processes constituting an electronic use system, such as:
  - annual payment or otherwise agreed;
  - the length of time the work is available online; and
  - the system of records to be kept for recording usage.
• Includes literary, dramatic, artistic and musical works;
• Must be used for the educational purposes of the institution;
• Must have a copyright statement made on the digital reproduction and on the communication as required by the regulations; and
• Requires an institution to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the communication can only be received or accessed by persons entitled to receive or access it.

Typical uses of this licence are digital copies from digital sources such as web pages (within limits), CD-Roms, and electronic text and graphics. In other words, this licence covers all works that are in an original electronic form.

This licence also covers copies that your institution has turned into a digital format and then wishes to electronically reproduce and communicate.

 how much can be reproduced from electronic originals?

what will we be able to communicate?

No more than the above limits from one work can be made available at any one time.

Typical methods of communication would include:

• emailing;
• making available on an inter/intranet site; or
• narrowcasting, i.e. video conferencing.

For detailed explanations of the changes to the Act affecting educational institutions we recommend the following Australian Copyright Council’s publications which can be obtained from their website at www.copyright.org.au:

• Educational Institutions: Digital and AV Resources
• Educational Institutions: Print Resources

more information:

Contact CAL’s Services department at:
Copyright Agency Limited
Level 19, 157 Liverpool Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9394 7600 Fax: (02) 9394 7601
Email: services@copyright.com.au

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