4.1.3 Copyright and licensing

Principles
Copyright law protects a broad range of material resulting from intellectual activity in the areas of art, literature, science and industry.  Agencies must ensure that the ownership rights associated with works subject to copyright are fully respected in all media applications.

The copyright in materials created by State Government employees in the course of their employment and by any other person under the direction or control of the Crown is owned by the Crown, except where there has been prior agreement to the contrary. Note that copyright ownership rests with the Crown, not with agencies.

Policy requirements
Agencies must:

• comply with the Copyright Act 1968 and the Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000
• obtain permission from the relevant copyright owner before reproducing or communicating any material which has not been created by the Crown
• manage the administration and licensing of Crown copyright as per the Crown copyright: guidelines for administration
• attach the Copyright and disclaimer notices: web publishing to their websites.