in brief
How can Screenrights license my work?
Screenrights licenses the use of film, television and radio when it’s difficult or impossible for rightsholders to do so individually. Sometimes this is because copyright laws state that rights must be administered collectively. In other situations, it is simply impractical to offer individual licences. Rightsholders then appoint Screenrights to license their work on their behalf. |
Licensing educational institutions to copy and communicate programs
The Australian Copyright Act permits educational institutions to copy programs from television and radio and to communicate those copies, provided the institution pays a royalty to the rightsholders in the programs. The right to communicate includes the right to “make available online” and to “electronically transmit”. This includes communication of programs by email or by making them available on an internal network. Any communication must be to staff and students only.
The Australian Government has appointed Screenrights as the copyright collecting society to administer these provisions. This means we enter agreements with educational institutions, negotiate a royalty, monitor copying and communication, and distribute payment to rightsholders.
In New Zealand, we perform a similar role. The law is slightly different, however, as the legislation allows educational institutions to copy and communicate material freely unless a licence service, such as the one set up by Screenrights, is established. New Zealand legislation also allows for the educational copying of audiovisual material legally made available online.
Licensing Australian government departments to copy from television and radio
The Australian Copyright Act allows state and federal government departments to copy from television and radio, provided the rightsholder is notified of this use. Rightsholders can also negotiate payment for government copying.
The way this works in practice is that Screenrights monitors copying in government departments. Screenrights also negotiates a fee for this use, collects this money and distributes it to rightsholders in the programs that are identified as having been copied.
Licensing retransmission of free to air broadcasts in Australia
The Australian Copyright Act allows for the simultaneous retransmission of free to air broadcasts through other services, such as pay television, provided they pay a royalty to the rightsholders in the programs.
The Australian Government has appointed Screenrights as the collecting society to administer these provisions of the Act. This means we enter agreements with the operators of these services, negotiate a royalty, collect data on retransmitted programs, and distribute payment to rightsholders.
More information?
Check out our other In Brief sheets. Our Member Services team is also happy to answer your questions. Email: memberservices@screenrights.org
