Fair dealing

Overview

Fair dealing provisions allow limited use of copyright material without users having to obtain licenses to use material and without users having to obtain permission from copyright holders.

Fair dealing only applies to certain purposes:

  • Research or study
  • Criticism or review
  • Access by a person with a disability
  • Parody or satire
  • Reporting the news
  • Judicial proceedings or professional advice.

For more information about reporting the news and judicial proceedings or professional advice, please contact the Copyright Office.

The Australian provision of fair dealing should not be confused with the US provision of fair use. Fair use is not applicable when using copyright material, within Australia.

Research or study

Fair dealing for research and study, allows copying under the following limitations:

  • The copying of 10% of the total number of pages or words (if the work is not paginated) or one chapter of the work, whichever is greater. More than 10% or one chapter can be copied under certain circumstances.
  • The copying of one article from a journal issue, magazine or newspaper. Two or more articles from the same issue can be copied if the copying is for the same research or course of study.

Apply the following conditions, to assess if copying of other types of material, (artistic works, films, sound recordings, computer programs, software or games, unpublished material or more than 10% or one chapter of textual material) is "fair and reasonable":

  • The purpose of the copying,
  • The type of material that is being copied, (the smaller the work the bigger the potential copying impact),
  • The possibility of obtaining a copy within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price,
  • The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the work,
  • If only part of the work is copied, the amount and substantiality of the part in relation to the whole work.

This provision only applies to material being copied for personal research and study.

This provision applies to self-directed study, as well as enrolled courses.

All copied material must be acknowledged.

Criticism or review

The whole of a work (if it is needed) or a part of a work can be copied for criticism or review. The Australian Copyright Council has advised "criticism and review involves making a judgment of the material concerned, or of the underlying ideas". This provision is unlikely to apply to copying material, for illustrative purposes or when using material to provide examples.

This provision also applies to reviews or critiques that are:

  • published.
  • presented at conferences.
  • made available online.

All primary material must be acknowledged.

Access by a person with a disability

This fair dealing provision allows copyright material to be reproduced in accessible formats to assist a person with disabilities.

The provisions apply to any person with a disability as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. The definition includes people with print or vision impairment, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental illnesses, deaf or hearing impaired, or physical disabilities. Both permanent and temporary disabilities are covered.

Fair dealing for a person with a disability is intended to ensure that people with disabilities have the same access to copyright material as people without disabilities and applies to:

  • Staff and students with a disability that causes them difficulty in reading, viewing, hearing or comprehending copyright material,
  • All types of copyright material – literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works and films or sound recordings.

Other benefits include:

  • Copyright material can be converted in whatever accessible format is required by the staff member or student.
  • Converted accessible material can be made available to staff members or students online.
  • Accessible copies can be used by staff or students with disabilities for whatever purpose they need. It is not just limited to research or study; personal use is covered as well.
  • Copies can be made on behalf of the person with a disability.
  • Converted accessible copies of material can be reused by students and staff members who have the same accessibility needs.

TPMs, (Technological Protection Measures) can be broken, so as to allow access to material under this provision.

"Fair and reasonable" use conditions can be applied to material under this provision if the material is commercially available in an accessible format. Apply the following conditions to assess if copying is "fair and reasonable":

  • The purpose of the copying,
  • The type of material that is being copied, (the smaller the work the bigger the potential copying impact),
  • The possibility of obtaining a copy within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price,
  • The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the work,
  • If only part of the work is copied, the amount and substantiality of the part in relation to the whole work.

There is an additional provision for institutions assisting people with a disability that the University can rely on.

For further advice please contact the Copyright Office or Student Equity and Disability Support.

Parody or satire

Primary material can be copied for parody and satire under fair dealing. The Copyright Act (Cth) 1968 does not define parody or satire. For more information about this and other fair dealing provisions, please contact the Copyright Office.

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