The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 49 No 2 July 2010

Consider this
to approach the publisher of the journal or book to obtain that permission, or even possibly the author/s
themselves.
On the other hand, if you want to take photos or video of work on permanent public display, such
as a public artwork or building, copyright does generally not apply and you are free to do so. There
are exceptions. If you want to shoot film at a particular location, for example, Bondi Beach, for a
commercial, advertisement, magazine article or television series, permission must be first obtained from
the local council and a fee paid. If this seems complicated, it is.
Copyright law can be incredibly convoluted and, from reading the extensive material supplied free
online by the Copyright Council of Australia, it appears that for every rule there seems to be a hundred
exceptions or special circumstances. It is worth noting that the few cases of concerning copyright
violation brought to court every year are mounted by large commercial organisations w ith deep pockets
sufficient to pay for lawyers with expertise in this field .
So where does this leave the individual ceramicist without these resources but who feels that there
has been a copyright violation using their work?
For further information you could approach NAVA (National Association for the Visual Arts Ltd) which
will provide advice to artist members. You could check out the brief and straightforward information on
copyright provided on the NAVA website www.visualarts.net.au. email nava@visualarts.net.au. or
phone 02 9368 1900.
You could access the more in-depth information provided on the Copyright Council of Australia 's
website www.copyright.org.au. or for limited legal advice register online as a CCA customer (this
service is free).
For legal advice you can also contact The Arts Law Centre of Australia website,
www.artslaw.com.au or phone 1800 221457.
For queries about copyright licensing, you could contact Viscopy via their website
www.viscopy.org.au. or phone 02 9310 2018.
A simpler way of dealing with this, after checking out your rights, might be to approach in person the
organisation/person violating copyright and point it out to them as they might not be aware that this is
the case. Copyright is there to protect the owners of copyright, which may seem obstructive when you
want to obtain or use copies of others' material, but is something that you appreciate when you are the
copyright owner. Caution and respect are the keywords when considering issues of copyright.
My thanks to the Copyright Council of Australia, NAVA and Viscopy for their help.
Please note: The above Information is for general guidance only and should not be considered as legal advice.
I. Quote from the Government-appointed committee report which led to the introduction of Australia's current Copyright Act and is quoted on the
Australian Copyright Council ~bsite - Copyright purposes and sources; 'NW'W',copyright,org .aulinformationldt0161wpOO13
© Karen Weiss 2010
THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS JULY 2010 59