Australian Copyright Law Research Articles

Libraries and Copyright

Derek Fielding made a largely unheralded but very significant contribution to Australian copyright law and it is appropriate that this be recognised by a chapter on this topic in this publication.Derek was appointed a member of the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Copyright Law Review Committee when that Committee was established in 1983. He served as one of its most active and influential members until the Committee was reconstituted (and its members paid) in 1995. Prior to and during this time Derek was a member of the Australian Vice Chancellors' Copyright Committee. I was a colleague of his in both these endeavours, and to say that this was a pleasure is an understatement. Derek brought a significant and much needed users' perspective to discussions that tended to be dominated by the interests of copyright owners. His intellectual contribution to the policy issues driving copyright law added much to the CLRC's consideration of the diverse issues with which it was concerned. His thoughtful comments on d...

Photocopying In Australian Libraries Developments In Copyright Law

Problems of copyright infringement involved in the extensive and largely uncontrolled use of coin operated photocopying machines in libraries, particularly University libraries, have become the most acute in Australian copyright law at the present time. These problems are not of course unique to Australia, but the recent decision of the High Court in University of New South Wales v Moorhouse and Angus & Robertson (Publishers) Pty Ltd has created a serious and difficult situation for libraries for which a workable solution has not yet been found. In 1974 the Australian government appointed a Committee, known as the Franki Committee, to examine the question of the reprographic reproduction of copyright works in Australia and to recommend any alterations to the copyright law and any other measures considered necessary to effect a proper balance of interest between owners and users of copyright materials in respect of reprographic reproduction. The Committee has not yet made its report and it is not known whether any recommendations will be made which will assist libraries in arriving at a solution to the legal problems now facing them where selfservice coin operated photocopying machines are made available for use by readers.