Copyright is the exclusive right given to authors and makers of original material to do and to authorise others to do certain specified acts in relation to that original material. Reproducing copyright material without the copyright owner’s permission may be an infringement. Dealing with part of a work may also infringe copyright if that part is important to the work.
However, the Act provides certain concessions to institutions assisting people with a print disability. All universities, TAFEs and most schools are covered by the licence. The Act permits, under certain conditions, the making of sound recordings, Braille versions, large-print versions, photographic and electronic versions of copyright works without infringing the copyright owners' rights.
Under the Act, a person with a print disability is:
- a person without sight
- a person whose sight is severely impaired
- a person unable to hold or manipulate books or to focus or move his or her
eyes
- a person with a perceptual disability.
Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) is the collecting society approved by the Attorney-General to administer the statutory licence for institutions assisting people with an intellectual or print disability. For an institution to operate under the statutory licence, it must:
- give a remuneration notice to CAL
- make copies solely for the purposes of assisting a person with a print disability
- mark any copies made in the manner prescribed by the Act
- ensure that record keeping requirements are met.
Further information