MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTS AND COPYRIGHT

Multimedia software products are becoming increasingly popular and are used anywhere from the corporate training room to your own home. The versatility of these products arise from the combination of component parts such as sound recordings, text, photographs and computer programs. However this combination of components has given rise to some interesting questions with respect to copyright.

Copyright in Australia is protected by way of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Like all acts, there is a list of definitions which is used in order to clarify exactly what the Government is expressing in the act. The problem with multimedia is that the Copyright Act does not classify multimedia as a category of work for the purposes of copyright protection. Like many acts dealing with computer hardware or software the legislation simply has not kept up with the changes in technology.

There will be copyright protection for the component parts such as photographs and computer programs as they are defined as categories of works, however, the multimedia product as a whole may not have copyright protection. The Courts are yet to rule on this matter.

If you are using non-original works in your multimedia product, you must ensure that you have the permission from the copyright owner to use that work. You should obtain this permission by way of an assignment of copyright or by obtaining a licence to use the copyright work. If you are producing the multimedia product for another party and they ask that you incorporate a photo, video clip or other copyright work, you should ask that they indemnify you against any claims for infringement of copyright if the creator of that work should object to its inclusion in your multimedia work.

Defending a copyright infringement claim can be expensive, so time and money spent to clarify your copyright position before a project is commenced is a sound investment for multimedia producers.

STEVE WHITE
WHITE SW COMPUTER LAW
MARCH 1997 www.computerlaw.com.au © White SW Computer Law 1997 This article is a guide only and should not be used as a substitute for proper legal advice, readers should make their own enquiries and seek appropriate legal advice.