Copyright Agency’s Annual General Meeting was held on Wednesday 26 November 2025. At the board meeting following the AGM, four directors were re-appointed to the board. As part of our constituted board structure, Copyright Agency has two representatives each from the Australian Publishers Association (APA) and the Australian Society of Authors (ASA). Sophie Cunningham AM will continue to represent the ASA, and Cath Godfrey will continue to represent the […]
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Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund Celebrates the 2025 Miles Franklin Finalists at Gleebooks The future of Australian literature took centre stage at Gleebooks in Sydney as three of the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award Shortlist authors — Winnie Dunn, Julie Janson and Siang Lu — gathered for a powerful and witty conversation hosted by Sunil Badami. […]
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Copyright Agency is deeply saddened by the passing of Michael Webster, publisher, academic, long-serving Board member, and Copyright Agency Chair from 1999-2002. Michael’s distinguished career in Australian publishing spanned many decades and various institutions. He served as Chair of the Small Press Network and Melbourne Writers Festival, and on the boards of the Australian Publishers […]
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Copyright Agency Chair, Dr Kate Harrison, is pleased to welcome Terri Janke as an Independent Director to the Board. Terri replaces Jason Eades, who recently stepped down after six years as a director. Terri brings a wealth of experience to the Copyright Agency Board. A Wuthathi, Yadhaigana and Meriam woman and an international authority on […]
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This year, three directly-elected positions on the Copyright Agency’s Board come up for election, that of Author Director, Artist Director and Publisher Director. Incumbent artist director Dr Oliver Watts and author director Matthew Ricketson (pictured above) have indicated they will nominate again for their respective positions. Author, artist, and publisher members can nominate for their corresponding director positions […]
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Kirsty Murray has stepped down from the Board after serving for four years as a Director. Kirsty was nominated by the Australian Society of Authors and appointed to the Board in 2020. During her time with Copyright Agency Kirsty has shared significant insight into the experiences of our author members and been a strong advocate […]
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Copyright Agency is delighted that the Government’s extension of the artists’ Resale Royalty Scheme will provide opportunities for Australian artists to receive royalties from resales of their artworks in other countries. The reciprocity launch on 31 March 2024 comes amid growing popularity of Aboriginal art worldwide, particularly in Europe, and we’re excited to see […]
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Each year the world comes together for International Women’s Day (IWD) to celebrate women’s achievements and reinforce a commitment to women’s equality. The theme for International Women’s Day 2024 is Inspire Inclusion and Copyright Agency marked the occasion by sitting down with our CEO Jo Johnston, to learn about her experiences, Copyright Agency’s dedication to improving […]
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We are thrilled to see that former Copyright Agency Chair Kim Williams has been announced as ABC Chair. Kim was nominated by an independent panel to hold the position for the next five years. Read the ABC’s announcement here. Kim stepped down from Copyright Agency Board in 2021, after chairing the organisation for six years […]
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The report by the Annual Code Reviewer on collecting societies’ compliance with the Code of Conduct in 2022-23 is now available here. The objectives of the Code are to facilitate efficient and fair outcomes for members and licensees by: promoting awareness of and access to information about copyright or the resale royalty right or both […]
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Last month, The Walkley Foundation hosted the 68th Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism at the International Convention Centre in Sydney. Dubbed ‘The Walkleys’, the ceremony recognises and rewards the best in the journalism craft. Finalists are selected by eminent journalists and photographers and overall winners judged by the Walkley Judging Board. Find out more […]
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Jason Eades has stepped down from the Board, after serving for six years as a Director. Jason has made a very significant contribution to the Board and to our members and we acknowledge the wealth of knowledge and expertise he brought to the Board, from his long experience in leadership roles in the not-for-profit, […]
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We are saddened to hear of the passing of Dr Dale Spender AM, pioneering feminist, activist, educator, author and founding member of Copyright Agency. Spender also served on the Copyright Agency’s Board for nine years and was the first female Chair since the organisation formed in 1974. She was also the founding editor of the […]
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Copyright Agency recently made some changes to our Statutory Education Licence rate card for private education providers. The changes take effect from 1 January 2024, and you can read more about them here. The feedback from the sector relating to the changes has been overwhelmingly positive. We sat down last week with Cyril Gabriel – […]
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Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund supports the 18th Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Inner Sanctum, which runs from 1 March to 2 June 2024. The Art Gallery of South Australia exhibition is a career-defining moment for contemporary Australian artists. Curated by José Da Silva, Inner Sanctum represents the human condition showcasing contemporary Australia in a reflective […]
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The festive season is drawing closer, and Christmas shopping – whether you love it or loathe it – is fast ascending to the top of your to-do list. You’re likely to be left spoilt for choice or at your wits’ end when it comes to present ideas but, luckily for you, we’ve pulled together a […]
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Australia’s oldest continuously running art centre, Ernabella Arts in Pukatja Community South Australia, has teamed up with one of the country’s most iconic homewares brands, Kip&Co, to design a homewares and clothing collection. The collaboration saw the Copyright Agency negotiate on behalf of the Ernabella artists to protect their moral rights and Indigenous Cultural Intellectual […]
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Copyright Agency has completed an extensive and thorough review of the rates charged to the independent education sector and we are pleased to unveil our new Statutory Education Licence rate card, designed in consultation with industry. The review included consideration of customer feedback, analysis of comparable market offerings and assessment of the current sector and […]
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Copyright Agency is saddened to hear of the passing of John Olsen AO OBE. Known for his distinctive painting style and depictions of landscapes, Olsen was one of Australia’s most acclaimed artists. During a career that spanned more than sixty years he won numerous awards, including the Wynne Prize in 1969 and 1985, the Sulman […]
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Copyright Agency’s CEO Josephine Johnston is delighted to announce the appointment of two new executives to the leadership team: Anne Milne (Director Corporate Services) and Arthur Baker (Director of Strategy and Innovation). Anne comes to Copyright Agency from South Eastern Sydney Local Health where she worked as Director, Corporate and Legal Services. Before that, she […]
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Copyright Agency Chair Dr Kate Harrison today welcomes Sophie Cunningham to the Board. The appointment was announced at the Annual General Meeting on Monday, 21 November 2022. Ms Cunningham was nominated by the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) and joins the board as one of two ASA nominee directors. She takes the place of outgoing author […]
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The Copyright Agency today announced the appointment of Matthew Ricketson to its Board, filling the casual vacancy for the Author Member. Dr Ricketson has worked as a journalist with the Age, the Australian, the Sunday Herald and other press publications. He has taught journalism at RMIT, was a Professor of Journalism at the University of […]
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The Copyright Tribunal (‘the Tribunal’) has released its decision in the long running matter involving the rate that media monitoring companies, Isentia and Meltwater, should pay to use news publishers’ print and digital content in their monitoring services. The media monitoring organisations’ (MMOs) case began in 2017 following the development of a new licensing model […]
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Universities Australia have applied for judicial review of the decision of the Copyright Tribunal on the rate payable by the 39 universities for use of copyright material.
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In 1974 Frank was one of a small band of determined volunteers campaigning for respect and financial recognition for Australian creators. His legacy lives on today ensuring that creators are fairly remunerated for their work in a digital environment that provides millions of students with access to high quality educational material. Frank generously gave permission […]
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I am pleased to inform you that today we’ve received a gratifying result in our action against Universities Australia (UA) in the Copyright Tribunal. The Tribunal has set the 2019 fee at $35.1M, to be applied as a per student fee, with indexation to apply for the years 2020 through to 2022. This is an excellent outcome for our members, recognising the contribution they make to the Education sector and fairly remunerating them for use of the materials they produce.
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Copyright Agency is a signatory to the Code of Conduct for Collecting Societies, and reports annually on its compliance with the Code (see here). Members and licensees are invited each year to make submissions to the Annual Code Reviewer (a former Federal Court judge) about Copyright Agency’s compliance with the Code (see here for the call for submissions for the review of compliance for 2020–21).
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The Board of Copyright Agency has made a call to author members to nominate as a director to fill a casual vacancy.
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Copyright Agency today announced the appointment of Josephine Johnston to the role of Chief Executive Officer, after a competitive search process which produced a field of impressive candidates. Dr Kate Harrison, Copyright Agency Chair said, “The Board is delighted that Jo has accepted the position of CEO and is confident that she will do an […]
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The following is an update on the recent cyber incident experienced by Copyright Agency. Our IT team has successfully restored a number of operations. This means that you may be hearing from our staff in in relation to the following activities:
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Dear Members, This is the last message I will send to you as CEO. As we announced a while ago, after six fantastic years representing you, it is time to move on to other challenges. What I have deeply enjoyed over this period is reading and seeing the output of an effective copyright system – […]
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Copyright Agency Chair, Dr Kate Harrison welcomes Leslie Loble to the Board. The appointment was announced at the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 24 November 2021 and is in addition to the reappointment of Jane Curry, Dr Oliver Watts and Adele Ferguson.
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On Friday, the Copyright Tribunal delivered its decision in relation to the rate that media monitoring companies, iSentia and Meltwater, should pay to use news publishers’ print and digital content in their monitoring services. The media monitoring organisations’ (MMOs) case began in 2017 following the development of a new licensing model by the Copyright Agency. […]
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On 10 August Copyright Agency (CA) filed an important opening Position Paper with the Copyright Tribunal in support of implementing a new digital way of collecting data about the use of members’ material to teach millions of Australian school students..
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Copyright Agency today announced that after six years as CEO, Adam Suckling has decided not to renew his contract for a further three-year term.
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Copyright Agency Board Director, Kate Harrison, has been appointed as the organisation’s Chair.
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Copyright Agency has made an application to the Copyright Tribunal of Australia, asking for assistance with designing new methodologies for collecting data from schools.
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Find out the latest on our cases before the Copyright Tribunal – an update from Adam Suckling, Copyright Agency CEO.
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More members added information about where their works have been published under the recent Royalty Claim campaign than ever before.
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We’ve released a new enhancement to members’ online accounts that makes it quick and easy to understand payments over time.
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With the ongoing uncertainty related to the pandemic, Copyright Agency recently agreed with school sector representatives to continue the survey pause until the end of 2021.
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Copyright Agency Chair Kim Williams has used today’s AGM to welcome Arthur Baker, Kirsty Murray and Richard Eccles to the Board.
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Copyright Agency would like to update members on the actions that have been proceeding in the Copyright Tribunal.
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The week starting 7 September 2020 was the first of a three-week hearing in Copyright Agency’s action against Universities Australia (UA).
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Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Copyright Agency has worked with the education sector to minimise disruptions and alleviate some of the pressure resulting from a radical transformation of teaching practices. The statutory education licence has been instrumental in the shift to online learning. Its broad and flexible coverage enabled educators to focus on the important […]
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The 2019/20 Financial Year drew to a close with almost $114 million distributed to publishers, writers, visual artists and surveyor members. “Our licences cover the use of a vast amount of copyright material by Australian school and university students, governments and businesses,” says Copyright Agency CEO Adam Suckling. “Our payment to members is for use […]
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Our largest annual payments to members – the Schools and Universities distributions – are coming up in June 2020, along with the TAFE distribution and payments to visual artists. We know that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic many of you are anxiously awaiting these distributions. We’re working hard to maintain our schedule with […]
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Dear Members, I write to update you on a recent court decision in Canada; what we have being doing for you around COVID-19; our legal cases; payment for news content by big tech; and the Cultural Fund. Canadian judgement: writers, publishers and visual artists win, but still get smashed I think it is worth soberly […]
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The Copyright Agency has announced an additional $125,000 under its Emergency Action Funding, in addition to the recently announced $375,000 and bringing forward of allocated Cultural Fund grants to the first part of next financial year. Copyright Agency’s CEO Adam Suckling said, “Our earlier-announced Emergency Action Funding of $375,000 was overwhelmed with applications to support […]
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On 22 April 2020 the Copyright Tribunal handed down a decision on Isentia’s application for the Tribunal to reduce Isentia’s interim copyright fees to the same fees that Meltwater is paying. His Honour Justice Greenwood rejected Isentia’s application to have its interim copyright fees reduced. The main hearing into the fees that media monitoring companies […]
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Dear Licensees, As you know, the rapid spread of COVID-19 has led to WHO declaring it a global pandemic. I hope that you, your family and loved ones are doing as best as possible under the circumstances. I wanted to let you know that Copyright Agency has taken steps to reduce risk to customers, members […]
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Copyright Agency announces a full program of support for writers, visual artists and publishers in the face of the severe challenges they face as a result of COVID-19. Under this program, Copyright Agency will provide an additional $375,000 in grants to creators, as well as bring forward to the first quarter of next financial year […]
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Dear Members, We have understandably had enquiries about whether COVID-19 and the associated necessary public health measures, as well as their economic impact, will stop or delay our payments to members. I completely understand your concern, as many of you are particularly adversely affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19. I’d like to assure you […]
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Dear Members, As you know, the rapid spread of Covid-19 has led to WHO declaring it a global pandemic. I hope that you, your family and loved ones are doing as best as possible under the circumstances. I wanted to let you know that Copyright Agency is taking steps to reduce any risk to members […]
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Copyright Agency and the State of New South Wales have settled their long-running dispute over the rate that NSW should pay for the use of copyright material by its public servants. The parties have now settled the arrangements for the past liability back to July 2012 and the payments forward to June 2023. Both parties […]
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At the end of 2019, the Copyright Agency rolled out the first round of planned improvements to the Member Portal. These updates form part of our commitment to enhancing member services by: Providing a more intuitive experience in the Portal Making it easier to manage and update your account Streamlining the onboarding process for new […]
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Premiering on NITV in February 2020, the Art Gallery of NSW’s deadly gallery event Faboriginal will bring a new form of game show based on Aboriginal art into living rooms across the country. The Copyright Agency worked closely with the gallery and production company Noble Savage Pictures to license 59 artworks for the program. They […]
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As part of Copyright Agency’s commitment to enhancing our services to members, we will shortly be rolling out the first round of our planned improvements to the Member Portal. To allow us to make the changes, access to members’ online accounts will be unavailable from 5pm Thursday 12 December to 9am Monday 16 December 2019. […]
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Mr Gadi Oron, the Director General of CISAC – the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers – will visit Australia and New Zealand this month for a first-hand look at the challenges and success stories around rights management in the region. CISAC, headquartered in France, is headed by electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre […]
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Copyright Agency has issued its 2018-19 Annual Report at its AGM held in Sydney on 20 November 2019. The report provides the audited financial results of the company and reports on achievements in the last financial year. 2018-19 was a strong year with many gains for our members. Highlights include: Strong financial results We generated revenue of around $150m and paid […]
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The Copyright Agency announced the appointment of two new Board Directors at its AGM on 20 November 2019 and released its end of financial year results. Copyright Agency Chairman Kim Williams welcomed the Deputy Chair of the Australian Society of Authors, Anne Maria Nicholson as an author director, and Managing Director of McGraw-Hill Education Cath […]
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We’ve been working on improvements to Copyright Agency’s member portal so, in the coming months, you may notice that things look a bit different. The changes are part of our commitment to members and the new member portal has loads of benefits. It’s easier to navigate and we’ve simplified some of the processes, which we’ve tested […]
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Copyright Agency’s 2019 Annual General Meeting will be held at 4.00pm on Wednesday 20 November 2019 in the Corinthian Room, Ground Floor, SMC Conference and Function Centre, 66 Goulburn Street, Sydney, New South Wales. The full notice of the AGM and important forms are hyperlinked below: 1. Notice of annual general meeting 2. Proxy form If […]
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As the NBN continues to be rolled out around Australia, it has provided an opportunity for Indigenous artworks to be displayed in the community. NBN Co’s delivery partner Downer has collaborated with the Copyright Agency to source and license artworks by key Indigenous artists to wrap around the NBN network nodes in Sydney’s Inner West. The aim is […]
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The Copyright Agency closed off the Financial Year 2018/19 making distributions to members of $116 million. The money, which comes from licence fees paid by the education, government and commercial sectors for using valuable copyright material, is paid across the creative economy – to publishers, authors, academics and teachers, plus to journalists and media publishers, […]
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The Copyright Agency and all other Australian collecting societies, APRA AMCOS, ASDACS, AWGACS, PPCA and Screenrights, have launched a new standalone website for the Code of Conduct for Copyright Collecting Societies. The collecting societies are signatories to the Code of Conduct, reporting each year on compliance with the obligations in the Code. The current Code […]
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The Copyright Agency recently farewelled a much-loved team member. Data researcher Than Than Yee started with the Copyright Agency in December 1986, more than 32 years ago. She was the second employee after Michael Fraser, who was the CEO – an extraordinary achievement. 1986 was the year that the agency received its first substantial copyright […]
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A MESSAGE FROM CEO ADAM SUCKLING Dear members, As promised previously, I am writing to update you on progress in the Copyright Tribunal in the actions against Universities Australia (UA) and the Media Monitoring Organisations (MMOs). Recently, the Copyright Tribunal determined an interim rate that Universities Australia is required to pay in copyright licence fees […]
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The Copyright Agency welcomes a landmark report from the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage which has backed Canadian authors in their push to reform copyright laws in that country. Copyright Agency CEO Adam Suckling says, “Canadian authors and publishers have endured serious erosions to their livelihoods since 2012 as a result of copyright changes which […]
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By Copyright Agency Chair, Kim Williams, AM. In my recent trips to Canberra as Chair of the Copyright Agency there has clearly been a sea change in the view of many (if not all) politicians and policy makers on ‘Big Tech.’ While these companies, of course, provide extraordinary services that are widely used, the image […]
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A message from the CEO, Adam Suckling Dear Members, I wrote to you at the end of last year about the issues around negotiating new agreements, our disputes before the Copyright Tribunal, and our investment in new systems and services to better serve members. As you know, digital technology continues to change profoundly the way […]
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The Australian Government’s Bureau of Communications and Arts Research released the final report of the review of the Code of Conduct for Copyright Collecting Societies on 1 April 2019. The recommendations outlined in the report seek to: increase clarity around the role of the Code improve transparency around collecting societies’ operations strengthen governance arrangements for […]
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The artworks of four Martumili Arts Centre artists have been licensed and replicated in beautiful metal screens for two remote community medical centres in the Western Desert. The Punmu and Parnngurr Aboriginal Health Clinics in the Western Australian Desert, 1800km from Perth and at least 400km away from their nearest towns, are some of the […]
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The British equivalent of Copyright Agency’s new Flex platform, has seen UK students download 5 million copyright-compliant documents. Flex is modelled on the Digital Content Store, which makes the task of preparing course reading material simpler and faster for librarians and educators – eliminating unnecessary duplication of processes every term. Since the UK’s Copyright Licensing Agency […]
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After the Copyright Agency’s AGM on 28 November, a special event was held to stand up for and celebrate Australian authors, publishers and visual artists. At the event, the three 2018 Copyright Agency Fellowships were announced. Read more. Guests at the event also heard from the Copyright Agency’s Chair Kim Williams who posited that “technology is […]
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The outcome of this year’s election for the Publisher Director position on the Copyright Agency’s Board was announced at the company’s AGM on Wednesday 28 November 2018. Two nominations were received, one from the incumbent director Jane Curry (Ventura Press) and one from Margrete Lamond, a publisher member who is the founder of Dirt Lane […]
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The Copyright Agency is a major sponsor of the awards for company annual reports. Copyright Agency’s Director of Commercial Licensing, Guy Johnson, says, “It’s the second year we’re sponsoring the Australasian Reporting Awards (ARA). We support good governance in all its forms and we are very pleased to sponsor the Special Award for Governance Reporting, which […]
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The Copyright Agency has announced its end of year results at its AGM held today. CEO Adam Suckling says 2017-18 was a solid to good year with $124m in copyright royalty payments to members, a beneficial merger, important political advocacy for fair copyright settings and almost $1.8m in grants in support of Australia’s creative community. […]
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Today, the Copyright Agency, on behalf of its 40,000 members, will lodge an action in the Copyright Tribunal to determine the value of the copyright licence Australian universities rely on to copy and share extensive amounts of educational content. The action comes after a breakdown in commercial discussions with Universities Australia (UA), for a new […]
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Dear members, I am writing to inform you that we have lodged an action in the Copyright Tribunal today to determine the value of the copyright licences Australian universities rely on to copy and share content. The action comes after a breakdown in commercial negotiations with Universities Australia, for a new licensing agreement, beginning in […]
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In late 2016, we began a multi-year project to modernise and integrate the agency’s numerous technological systems including finance, customer relationship management (CRM), member interface and data management. The aim of this project is to ensure that we can improve services to members using the most advanced cloud-based technology. This includes introducing a simplified payments model; […]
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The 2018 Annual General Meeting of the Copyright Agency Limited will be held at the Remington Room, Fifth Floor, SMC Conference and Function Centre, 66 Goulburn Street, Sydney, New South Wales on Wednesday, 28 November at 4:30pm. For your information, the following documents are linked below: 1. Notice of annual general meeting 2. Proxy Form […]
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In July, the Copyright Agency sought nominations from members for three elected Board Director positions – that of Publisher Director, Author Director and Artist Director. Incumbents, journalist Adele Ferguson and visual artist Dr Oliver Watts, will remain on the Board as their positions have not been contested. The two people running for the Publisher Director role are the incumbent Jane Curry (Ventura […]
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Dear members, I wrote in Creative Licence in July about changes to the Copyright Agency’s Future Fund, where the Board has decided it is prudent to reduce the amount in the Fund from $15m to $12m over the next three years. You can read my July message here. Further to that, our end of financial […]
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Art lovers take note! This month’s Sydney Contemporary art fair celebrates the vibrancy and diversity of contemporary art with art-inspired events and exhibitions from 13-16 September. The Copyright Agency has partnered with Sydney Contemporary this year to present TALK Contemporary: a series of panel discussions featuring leading figures in the arts exploring topical and controversial […]
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The merger of the Copyright Agency and Viscopy, on 30 November 2017, has led to a reduction in the administration fee for visual arts licences. The reduction applies from 1 January 2018. Copyright Agency’s administration fee varies slightly from year to year and is currently: On income from ‘statutory’ licence fees collected by Copyright Agency […]
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A message from the CEO, Adam Suckling. Dear members, I write to update you on the Copyright Agency’s Future Fund which was established by a 2013 Board decision to safeguard the interests of our members in light of serious threats from proposed changes to Australia’s copyright laws. In the interests of members, the Copyright Agency […]
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The Copyright Agency is currently protecting the rights of its members through several different actions in the Copyright Tribunal. NSW Government As some of you will be aware, we are in dispute with the NSW Government over non-payment of licence fees for over five years. We participated in mediation on Wednesday 20 June but were regrettably […]
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As part of our recent merger with Viscopy, Copyright Agency has needed to make changes to its Privacy Policy. For a number of years Viscopy provided a list of its members on its website. Copyright Agency will now make a list of its visual artist members available on Copyright Agency’s newly merged website. Copyright Agency […]
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Three directly-elected positions on the Copyright Agency’s Board come up for election this year – that of Publisher Director, Author Director and Visual Artist Director. The three incumbents, publisher Jane Curry, journalist Adele Ferguson and visual artist Dr Oliver Watts, have all indicated they will nominate again for the positions. Members can also nominate for […]
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Dear members, I wanted to update you on our copyright dispute with the NSW Government over non-payment of licence fees for over five years. We participated in mediation on Wednesday (20 June) but were regrettably unable to reach agreement. This means that the dispute will now be heard by the Copyright Tribunal. As I have said […]
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Dear Members, I thought I should update you directly on some key licensing matters. As you may know from a message I sent members last November, the Copyright Agency has taken the NSW government to the Copyright Tribunal because of its refusal to pay a fair rate over the last five years for the use […]
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The Copyright Agency has awarded two Publisher Fellowships at the Australian Book Industry Awards in Sydney. The Fellows, Spineless Wonders Publisher Bronwyn Mehan and Monash University Publishing’s Nathan Hollier will investigate what local publishers can learn from international business models in publishing in the United States and Asia. Copyright Agency CEO, Adam Suckling, said, “The […]
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Copyright modernisation consultation The Department of Communications and the Arts has opened a new consultation process on reform options for copyright. It has released a ‘Copyright modernisation consultation paper’ and is asking for views on three areas of the Copyright Act that is says “may benefit from modernisation”. Flexible exceptions: “which need to adapt over […]
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The Copyright Agency has appointed highly respected commercial and intellectual property lawyer Dr Kate Harrison to its Board as an independent director, filling an existing vacancy. Kate is a Partner of Gilbert + Tobin and has been the Head of its Litigation practice. Kate’s experience encompasses corporate and commercial litigation, intellectual property advice, commercial licensing […]
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As Qantas’ exciting new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner touched down in Alice Springs recently, members of the Copyright Agency’s visual arts licensing team were on the ground to see the outcome of their work with the estate of the artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye. The beautiful artwork adorning the new plane is an adaptation of the late […]
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Copyright Agency’s CEO Adam Suckling has announced the Cultural Fund will increase the value of its annual fellowships, from $120,000 to $285,000 this year. Mr Suckling says, “The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund commits some $2m annually from copyright licensing revenue to ensuring that creative Australians keep contributing positively to the cultural life of the nation. […]
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Copyright Agency’s equivalent collecting society in the United Kingdom, the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) has applied to the UK Government to operate a new scheme known as Extended Collective Licensing (ECL). Such schemes enable licensing bodies, that represent a significant number of rightsholders belonging to the same class, to extend their licences to cover unrepresented […]
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At the end of last year, the Copyright Agency and Viscopy formally merged. This was after a five year “services agreement” where the two organisations merged their backend operations but maintained two Boards and two separate memberships. Between them, the organisations represent around 40,000 direct and indirect members, ranging from visual artists and illustrators to […]
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Following the successful decades-long campaign for the return of artist Albert Namatjira’s copyright, the Namatjira Legacy Trust has enlisted the Copyright Agency to manage the licensing rights of the renowned artist internationally. The rights now reside with the Namatjira Legacy Trust, which represents the Namatjira family, and was established as part of a long-term project […]
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On 1 December 2017, the Copyright Agency Board agreed to several beneficial changes to member policies. These changes will: assist early resolution of competing claims by different members to an allocated amount and enable funds held in suspense to be paid; change our member terms for new members to make clear that our licensees can, […]
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The Copyright Agency announced the appointment of two new Board Directors at its AGM yesterday. Copyright Agency Chairman Kim Williams welcomed leading Aboriginal arts consultant Jason Eades to the Board as an independent director. Mr Eades will replace outgoing independent director, Indigenous artist and author, Bronwyn Bancroft, who has served on the Board for nine […]
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The Copyright Agency has named multi award-winning author Kathryn Heyman as its 2017 Author Fellow to develop her forthcoming memoir Words to Live By. “The $80,000 Author Fellowship for mid-to-late career authors is Australia’s richest fellowship for writers, providing crucial financial support for the development of a new work,” Copyright Agency CEO, Adam Suckling, says. […]
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Last month, the Copyright Agency’s CEO Adam Suckling attended the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO) World Congress in Tokyo. Apart from participating in the Congress, the trip was an opportunity for the Copyright Agency to share information with Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, which is considering introducing an educational licensing scheme similar to […]
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After a successful five-year ‘Services Agreement’ and a Scheme of Arrangement approved by the Supreme Court, the corporate regulator ASIC and members, Copyright Agency and Viscopy formally merged on 30 November. At extraordinary general meetings of the Copyright Agency and Viscopy, members of both organisations overwhelmingly voted to support the merger of the two rights […]
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The Copyright Agency is excited to announce a new partnership agreement with industry peak body the Public Relations Institute of Australia that will expand on its joint commitment to educate public relations and communication practitioners on the importance of copyright. The Copyright Agency’s Director of Commercial Licensing, Guy Johnson, says the new partnership agreement will […]
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Notice of Meeting Notice is given that the Annual General Meeting of Members of Copyright Agency Limited (the Company) will be held at the Remington Room, Fifth Floor, SMC Conference and Function Centre, 66 Goulburn Street, Sydney, New South Wales on Thursday, 30 November at 4:30pm. Business 1. Apologies 2. Declaration of Proxies* 3. Presentation of Accounts and […]
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In October, news emerged that the rights in the work of globally recognised Indigenous watercolourist Albert Namatjira had been returned to the Namatjira family after decades of campaigning. The ABC’s Isabel Dayman reported that the copyright controversy ended, not in a courtroom, but on the phone after the intervention of a high-profile Australian millionaire. Dick […]
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The Copyright Agency supports Marriage Equality. We support diversity in the workforce and recognise the rights of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) employees to live and work, free of prejudice and discrimination, with all the essential freedoms enjoyed by other members of our organisation and the broader community. People who love each […]
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The Copyright Agency and Viscopy announced their intention to merge earlier this year. This process is now underway and, as such, two Extraordinary General Meetings will be held on 2 November – one for Viscopy members (to vote for the change) and one for Copyright Agency members to vote to amend the Copyright Agency’s constitution […]
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After a successful five-year ‘Services Agreement’ between rights management organisations, the Copyright Agency and Viscopy, the two organisations have begun the formal arrangements to merge. As part of the process, extraordinary general meetings will be held before the end of the year. Members will be notified in October as soon as the dates for the […]
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The Copyright Agency today welcomed the Government’s measured response to the Productivity Commission report on Australia’s Intellectual Property arrangements which recognises Australia’s copyright system is critical for creative innovation. Copyright Agency CEO Adam Suckling says, “Copyright plays a critical role in driving investment in the cultural and innovative life of our nation. We welcome the Government’s recognition […]
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LearningField, a world-first digital textbook platform by The Copyright Agency, welcomes three new publishers – National Educational Advancement Programs (Neap), Edrolo and Titan Education – offering more than 250 new texts, study guides and video support programs to students and teachers. The new publisher resources add to the list of more than 1,300 e-textbooks and […]
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The Copyright Agency’s annual $80,000 Author Fellowship for mid-to-late career authors – one of Australia’s richest – is now accepting applications. The Fellowship was established for the first time in 2015, with author Mark Henshaw (The Snow Kimono) being the first recipient for his new work The Missing and Indigenous author Melissa Lucashenko (Mullumbimby) named […]
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On Thursday 13 July 2017 Queensland’s Indigenous artists and organisations were recognised among peers at the opening night of the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF). Included in the prizes awarded for excellence and emerging talent was the inaugural Award for Innovation, a $10,000 prize sponsored by Copyright Agency | Viscopy, which this year went to […]
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Australian organisations representing musicians, authors, visual artists, educators, screen producers and publishers have joined forces to mount the #FreeIsNotFair campaign in response to a push by Big Tech and large organisations to water down Australia’s copyright laws. The campaign’s website www.freeisnotfair.org features leading Australian creators, such as musicians Jimmy Barnes and Josh Pyke, actor, director and writer […]
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After a successful five-year ‘Services Agreement’ between rights management organisations, the Copyright Agency and Viscopy, the two organisations have agreed in principle to begin the formal arrangements to merge. Between them, the two organisations represent some 43,000 members, ranging from visual artists and illustrators to journalists, cartoonists, surveyors, educational authors and publishers. Viscopy Chair, Tim […]
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Things change rapidly in the world of copyright in Australia – so here’s the latest round up to bring you right up to speed. Copyright amendments The Government is about to pass amendments to the Copyright Act, supported by the Copyright Agency and other content creator representatives, which will significantly increase access to copyright material, while […]
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The Chief Executive of the Copyright Agency, Adam Suckling, has announced Nicola Evans as the new head of the agency’s philanthropic area, the Cultural Fund and the teacher resource Reading Australia. The Cultural Fund is highly regarded within the Australian cultural landscape, having provided millions of dollars in funding to arts and literary organisations since […]
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“Copyright Agency | Viscopy welcomes the Federal Opposition’s support for Australian publishers, writers and booksellers and their ability to invest in Australian writers by keeping in place territorial copyright which the Productivity Commission wants to abolish,” said Copyright Agency CEO Adam Suckling. “However we remain gravely concerned about many other proposals in the Productivity Commission […]
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Australians are about to get a glimpse into the creative worlds of well-known celebrities as part of a new social media campaign aimed at encouraging Australian audiences to support and respect creative rights of writers, musicians and artists. Mental As Anything musician and Mambo artist Reg Mombassa, international crime author Tara Moss and The Project […]
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Copyright Agency distributed $115m to its members in the 2015-16 financial year, with a positive expansion in licensing particularly among corporates, media intelligence companies and colleges. Copyright Agency’s CEO, Adam Suckling told members at the not-for-profit’s AGM in Sydney that the company had distributed an average of $100m a year to members over the past decade. […]
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The Copyright Agency awarded an unprecedented $160,000 for its Author Fellowship and four Publishing Fellowships, along with two NAVA Visual Arts Fellowships at the inaugural Copyright Agency | Viscopy annual showcase in Sydney tonight. “This year’s fellowship announcement will award a record $160,000 providing crucial financial support for the pursuit of creative excellence and innovation […]
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The Copyright Agency’s annual $80,000 Author Fellowship, honouring the work of Australia’s best mid-to-late career authors has today announced its shortlist. The fellowship, which has doubled in value from $40,000 in its inaugural year, is now the flagship endowment for mid-to-late career authors providing valuable financing so they can develop their next work. “The calibre […]
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The first tranche of the Universities distribution will go out to members in December along with the individually licensed educational institutions. Online member area revamped We’ve recently upgraded our online member portal so you can access your information on-the-go through a mobile or tablet. As a result, all members have to update their passwords. If you haven’t done so yet, please click here to create your […]
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The Educational Publishing Awards celebrated 23 years of excellence last month in Melbourne. Organised by the Australian Publishers Association, the awards highlight the creativity and innovation of educational authors and publishers. This year, the judges assessed 126 titles in 22 award categories. Copyright Agency is a longstanding sponsor of the Publisher of the Year Awards […]
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The Copyright Agency’s annual Author Fellowship for mid-to-late career authors has doubled its award from $40,000 to $80,000 this year, making it one of Australia’s richest fellowships for writers. Copyright Agency CEO, Adam Suckling, says, “This is now the flagship fellowship for mid-to-late career authors, providing valuable financing so they can develop their next work. […]
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Australia’s text licensing company, the Copyright Agency, has developed an easy way for companies to build and share knowledge with content from the world’s leading scientific, technical and medical (STM) journals. Copyright Agency’s new pay-per-use online licensing solution, RightsPortal Journals, has been developed in partnership with globally successful publishers Elsevier, Wiley, and Wolters Kluwer. RightsPortal […]
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The Productivity Commission’s draft report on Australia’s copyright arrangements makes recommendations that would be incredibly detrimental to our national creative talent. The report is overall profoundly disappointing and a major cause for concern, says Copyright Agency Chairman Kim Williams. “I cannot think of another recent report that so seriously misses the main drivers of its area of […]
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Proposals to impose a US-style intellectual property arrangement in Australia made by the Productivity Commission today would pose one of the greatest dangers to Australian-made content in a generation. “A US-style ‘fair use’ arrangement to copyright is out of context in the Australian system and would be a wrecking ball to Australian writers, creators, publishers and […]
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Asia-Pacific’s leading media intelligence company, Isentia (ASX:ISD), has signed a new agreement with rights manager, the Copyright Agency, which delivers greater value to Isentia clients, keeping them informed in the 24/7, digital business information age. This new agreement recognises the increasingly complex media environment that Isentia’s clients navigate. Under the new copyright agreement, Isentia will […]
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The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund has given $132,500 to four Queensland based creative projects and more than $933,000 to projects nationally in its latest grants round. Queensland based initiatives include: $20k to the State Library of Queensland for the Communities of Story project; $12k over two years for the Queensland Poetry Festival to support the […]
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The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund has given $95,000 to five creative projects in Western Australia and more than $933,000 to projects nationally in its latest grants round. Western Australian initiatives include: $10k to Arts Margaret River for the Margaret River Reader and Writers Festival; $10k to writingWA for the Singapore-Western Australia Book Industry Trade Summit; […]
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Brian Johns AO sadly passed away on 1 January 2016. Brian spent 13 years on the Copyright Agency’s Board until the end of 2014, including six as chairman, from 2004 -2009. Brian made an inestimable contribution to journalism, Australian writing, broadcasting and the visual arts, indeed to creativity and our country generally. He served the nation […]
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The Copyright Agency welcomes the opportunity to review proposed changes to the Copyright Act. We particularly welcome the amendments to simplify the statutory licences for education, which have resulted from a joint proposal from schools, universities, Screenrights and the Copyright Agency. Copyright Agency CEO, Adam Suckling, says, “We support simplifying the education statutory licences, which […]
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The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund has given more than $933,000 to 41 creative projects all over Australia in its latest grants round. Highlights of the round include: $90k to Queensland Theatre Company for an Indigenous New Work Residency; $24k to support the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2016; $30k for the Kid’s Own (Vic) project: Into […]
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The Copyright Agency has announced the appointment of two new Board members – Fairfax business journalist Adele Ferguson and publisher Jane Curry – after a ballot. A record number of candidates submitted for the two positions and there was a high level of interest in the voting. The addition of Adele and Jane brings the […]
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The Copyright Agency has today launched a new-look website, making it easier for its members and licensing customers to find relevant information, buy licenses and apply for funding. The website has been designed to reflect the diverse creativity of its near 30,000 membership base with member profiles featuring creators such as painter Criss Canning, children’s book illustrator Ann […]
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Copyright Agency | Viscopy has relocated to 66 Goulburn St, Sydney Please note, all Copyright Agency | Viscopy email addresses, telephone and fax numbers remain unchanged.
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A world-first innovation aims to simplify online copyright approvals – and it’s all just a click away. Australian rights management and collection society, the not-for-profit Copyright Agency has partnered with UK not-for-profit The Copyright Hub on its global permission technology, launched overnight in the UK by British Intellectual Property Minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe. Chair of the […]
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Copyright Agency Board Director, Kim Williams, has been appointed as the organisation’s Chairman. Mr Williams takes on the role from Sandy Grant who has chaired the not-for-profit for the past five years – and been a Board member since 2002. Mr Grant will remain on the Board. Mr Williams, who joined the Copyright Agency’s Board […]
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Mr Adam Suckling has been appointed as Chief Executive of Australian rights management and licensing organisation, Copyright Agency | Viscopy. Mr Suckling is News Corp’s Director Policy, Corporate Affairs and Community Relations. He joins the organisation after 20 years’ holding senior commercial, communications and policy roles in the media and telecommunications sector, including working in […]
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The Copyright Agency has just completed its first payment to surveyors of almost $200,000. This follows the determination of the Copyright Tribunal in July 2013 to award surveyors a fair share of proceeds from the sale of survey plans by the NSW Government. You can read more about the case here. This first distribution was […]
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