Four Questions about the Australian Approach to Fair Dealing Defenses to Copyright Infringement

Abstract

Focusing principally on the copyright law of Australia, this article aims to provide some further context for the dealing/fair use debate. The article raises four questions about the differences between the Australian and US approaches to permitted uses. These questions concern: implications of the differences in each nation's legislative drafting techniques; the significance of the relative paucity of case law in the Australian context; the relevance of other defenses; and the recent adoption in Australia of a new defense for fair dealing for the purposes of parody or satire. The article concludes by noting some of the private international law implications of the distinctions between dealing and use.