Copyright Infringement Case Study

Developing a policy for Management

The prevention and management of Copyright infringements.

In order for management to understand how to prevent and manage copyright infringements it is important to understand what a copyright is and what it means when a copyright is infringed.

A copyright is defined as the legal right created by the law that governs a country, that in turn grants the creator of original work exclusive rights for use and distribution for the work that is deemed as a copyright. A copyright is therefore seen as the intellectual assets of a company, from which they use to generate a profit. It is therefore of utmost importance that a company works hard to ensure that their copyrights are not infringed, and that management is

1. Management should educate employees on copyrights and the infringements of copyrights so that the employees are aware if they are about to infringe a copyright

2. All copyrights should be protected with Terms of Use and a disclaimer

3. Management should be aware of what intellectual property of the company is protected under the Australian Copyright Act of 1968 and should continuously train employees on how to correctly use the assets of the company without infringement.

Ways management can educate users to prevent copyright infringement:

Copyright infringement is rarely an accident in the workplace and it can easily be avoided.

Whether the user is dealing with a line of text, an image or a song, users may try to justify this as simply “borrowing” the work, but this is completely unacceptable. To avoid infringement the user should simply be creative rather than relying on existing material to use for their own work.

5 ways to avoid copyright infringement:

1. Assume the work is already copyrighted

- Having this mind-set to work found online will greatly assist with avoiding copyright infringements. Just because the work is freely downloadable does not mean that it’s free to

Review and retain licensing agreements.

- License agreements are required for work obtained through stock agencies (for example Shutter Stock for stock images). The user will need to review these agreements as they contain the terms on which you are purchasing the licence and any applicable restrictions.

4. Set up an IP policy for your business.

- An intellectual property (IP) policy is a set of guidelines. These guidelines provide employees with the principles applicable in dealing with intellectual property that belongs to third parties and businesses. An IP policy is an effective means of protection against unintentional infringement.

5. Talk with a lawyer.

- Copyright can be very complex and failure to follow these rules can result in serious legal consequences. Legal advice should be sought-after on how to prevent copyright infringement and ensure your business complies with the law.

The law that protects intellectual property and prevents copyright infringements in Australia is the Australian Copyright Act of 1968. The act as amended in the year 2004, protects the intellectual property of an author who has passed for up to 70 years after their passing.

The Australian Copyright Act of 1968 covers;

1. Literary works

2. Dramatic