Copyright Tribunal update
December 1, 2022
University sector: appeal now to be heard in early 2023
In July this year, the university sector filed an application to appeal against the determination of the Copyright Tribunal (in May 2022) regarding equitable remuneration payable by the university sector (see here and here). The appeal was scheduled for hearing on 28 November 2022 (see here). Unfortunately, for COVID-related reasons, the appeal will now be heard in early 2023.
Amounts held in escrow from 2019 to 2022 will remain in escrow until the matter is resolved.
Copyright Agency is now in negotiations with Universities Australia regarding licence fees payable from 2023. We will keep members informed of progress.
School sector: new agreement and future data collection
Copyright Agency and Copyright Advisory Group (representing the school sector) have reached an agreement on copyright fees payable for 2023 to 2025, with an option to extend a further year. The agreement continues the 2022 per-student rate ($13 per student per year).
Copyright Agency is continuing to seek assistance from the Copyright Tribunal on future methods of data collection from the school sector, using modern technologies to minimise the burden on teachers. Surveys in schools have not been resumed since they were paused in March 2020 due to the pandemic.
For the June 2023 distribution of licence fees from schools, we will be using a combination of data sources, include past data from surveys in schools, results from high-level questionnaires completed by teachers in 2021 and 2022, and data on recently published textbooks.
Media monitoring organisations
In October 2022, Copyright Agency and Isentia reached a new agreement on copyright fees for media monitoring (see here). The agreement takes into account the determination of the Copyright Tribunal in October 2021, which applied to Isentia and Meltwater. Copyright Agency appealed the Copyright Tribunal’s determination, but the appeal was dismissed just after the agreement between Isentia and Copyright Agency was reached. Future arrangements with Meltwater remain to be resolved.