MEMBERS - RIGHTS INFO

PRIMARY RIGHTS

Primary rights refer to the use of artistic work for the primary reproduction. For example if a publisher wanted to reproduce your work in a book or catalogue VISCOPY would provide the publisher with a non-exclusive licence to reproduce your work for a specific and limited use.

Download our Membership Registration Form here. To register as a Full Member, tick the “Full Rights” box. Note that as a full member, your statutory rights are automatically covered.

STATUTORY RIGHTS

All visual artists are entitled to reproduction royalties for work copied by the education and government sector. Statutory rights covers instances when an initial reproduction such as in a book or film is copied again such as in photocopying or broadcast copying from free to air or pay TV.

Statutory rights relate to copying of artistic work by the educational and government sector under Statutory Licences.

More information about Statutory Royalties

Download our Membership Registration form here. To register as a Statutory Member, tick the “Statutory Rights” box. Note that as a statutory member, VISCOPY will not administer any other right on your behalf unless specifically directed to by you.

Original	Primary reproduction	Secondary reproduction
Painting/drawing	Book/catalogue	Photocopying
Textile work	Postcard	Video-recording
Cartoon	Poster	Slide copying
Illustration	Internet	Digital copying
Design	Audio-visual
Sculpture	Film
Photograph	Television program
Video art	Digital publishing
Etc	Etc

MORAL RIGHTS

If you are an artist, photographer, craftsperson, architect or other creator of artistic works, you will have moral rights in your work. It is important that you understand what these rights are. Specifically, you have the right to:

• be attributed as creator of your works;
• take action if your work is falsely attributed; and
• take action if your work is distorted or treated in a way that is prejudicial to your honour or reputation.

For more information, download our info sheet.

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

LICENCE

A licence is an agreement you establish with your client on how the images will be used. This is where the usage is defined and the fees agreed. The following three items Medium, Time and Territory will help you calculate the fee. VISCOPY acts for you here.

The greater the usage the higher the fee is likely to be.

TIME

How long will the image be locked up in the current use? An image who's primary use is for a weekly magazine may be licensed for a month as opposed to a product launch which may need a couple of years.

TERRITORY

It's easy for someone to say they want worldwide rights but many clients don't need it. If the client has an Australia only need, the image could be earning you more money in Japan for example.

MEDIUM

How will the work be used? In print, on film (TV), web, point of sale, merchandise or billboard etc. In considering the medium you also need to consider the print run, clearly a run of a few thousand will attract a different fee from a national distribution.

PARTIAL BUYOUT

This is where a client may have a specific usage need and wants exclusive rights in a particular area. For example you may have licensed your work for use on a wine label. The client may want exclusive rights to the image in Australia and New Zealand for two years to ensure a product launch goes smoothly. In this case you sell those rights for the territory and time. There is then an obligation on you not to sell rights into that territory for two years. Likewise the client must obtain another licence if they want to extend their use of the image.

A partial buyout is an 'exclusive licence'.

JOINT RIGHTS

In this case both the artist and the client have unlimited rights in the image. Clearly in a case like this neither party can exclusively license the images to anyone else without the consent of the other rights owner.

BUYOUT

Creators you should avoid this at all costs. A buyout means selling your copyright. There are not many areas which can't be dealt with by licensing.

Some clients may have a real need to be in complete control of a particular image. Some simply haven't thought about how licensing could work for them. Consider the negotiation carefully and make sure you are well paid if you choose to sell. Remember that once you sell the copyright you lose all access to the image and its income earning potential.

PRIMARY RIGHTS

These include the right to publish, reproduce, copy or scan the image. It includes how the image might be distributed where and for how long.

SECONDARY RIGHTS

Secondary rights cover copying of a reproduction. For example secondary rights cover the photocopying of a book or publication. They also cover the copying of a film or video in which your images might appear.

REUSE

This primarily covers commissioned photography, graphic art etc. Let's say your photograph was originally commissioned for a single use magazine ad. It's such a great shot the client now wants to use it to spearhead a national billboard campaign. This is a reuse of the shot. You negotiate a fee for reuse in the same way you negotiate a primary use. You consider the key questions of time territory and medium.

ROYALTY

In the VISCOPY context a royalty is any copyright fee you are paid which has been collected from licensing reproductions or your work or from secondary rights collections.

RIGHTS AT WORK

COPYRIGHT

COPYRIGHT IN AUSTRALIA:

Is automatic

Generally lasts for 70 years after the death of the creator (expanded from 50 years since the signing of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, which went into effect 1 January, 2005)

Can be owned by a person other than the creator

Requires permission to be used by another entity

Can be infringed by another entity

COPYRIGHT DURATION

Copyright in Australia is automatic. This means that once a drawing, sculpture or photograph has been completed, it is automatically protected under the Copyright Act. Copyright protects the artistic work for the lifetime of the creator plus another 70 years after the death of the creator. Exceptions to this include photographers copyright.

COPYRIGHT IS VALUABLE

Copyright is an economic right, which means it can be traded or licensed. Such rights have earning potential. Copyright only comes into existence when something is actually created.

PHOTOGRAPHERS' COPYRIGHT DURATION

Photographs still in copyright on 1 January 2005 - life of the photographer plus 70 years

All photographs taken before 1 January 1955 are now out of copyright

If the photographer is unknown or used a pseudonym, duration continues indefinitely until the photograph is
published. After publication, copyright lasts 70 years from the end of the year in which it was
published.

For more information see http://www.copyright.org.au

PENALTIES

Penalties for unauthorised copying or use of copyright material can be very high. It is in everyone's interest that users determine who owns the copyright in an image before it is reproduced. So you can see that as an artists it make good sense to retain ownership of your copyright, and to respect the rights of other creators.

When a client buys your work they buy the privilege of hanging it on the wall, of owning the work. They do not buy the right to reproduce it.

WHO IS THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OF AN ARTISTIC WORK?

The copyright owner of an artistic work is usually the creator, for example a painter, video artist or sculptor. However there are exceptions to this such as

An employee; the employer would normally own the copyright

A university student - check your university copyright policy

The work was commissioned ie to paint or engrave a portrait prior to June 1998

You were commissioned to take a photograph prior to 30 June 1998

You were commissioned to take a photograph for 'domestic' use

[This is not a comprehensive list]

For excellent information on all aspects of copyright, refer the Australian Copyright Council website at www.copyright.org.au. They have a wide range of information available for download.

ARTISTIC WORKS UNDER THE COPYRIGHT ACT INCLUDE:

Drawings

Paintings

Engravings

Sculpture

Photographs

Buildings

Maps and plans or patterns

MANAGING YOUR RIGHTS

NEGOTIATING USE

Whenever someone wants to reproduce your work you should think about what rights you have and how to license them for specific uses. Unless you're being paid a lot of money don't license your work world wide, indefinitely or for all media, especially the web.

INFRINGEMENT AND PROTECTION

WHAT CAN I DO IF MY COPYRIGHT IS INFRINGED?

If you are a member of VISCOPY contact us first to get advice. Depending on the type of infringement, VISCOPY will generally contact the infringer and resolve the issue. If the issue is more complex, referrals can be made to either the Australian Copyright Council or Arts Law Centre of Australia.

If you are a full member of VISCOPY, and you wish to report an infringement that has occurred while you have been a member, download and complete an Infringement Information Sheet and return it to us as soon as possible.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP PROTECT MY COPYRIGHT?

Artists can act to assist in the protection of their copyright in many ways:

ENSURE ATTRIBUTION
Whenever your work is reproduced, even as 'promotion', always insist that you are acknowledged as the creator of the artistic work. A standard line that is used in the industry is:

© 'Artists Name', Title of work, Year work was created.

Eg: © Jo Artist, Jo at Bondi, 2000

USE CONTRACTS
Always use contracts when you make a transaction with another person or entity. This could be for a commission, a reproduction or for any other use. It can be as simple as putting the agreement in a letter or more formal with a contract. Proforma contracts can be purchased from the Arts Law Centre of Australia. The Australian Copyright Council can advise on copyright clauses free of charge.

WHAT IF SOMEONE ELSE DRAWS UP A CONTRACT?
If a person or entity provides a contract for you to sign, ALWAYS read it very carefully. Make sure you are not inadvertently selling your rights, or promising to deliver on something you may regret or be unable to provide, such as agreeing to an impossible deadline. If in doubt seek help.

KEEP ACCURATE RECORDS
Always keep a record of all transactions whether it be an agreement for a commission, or forwarding transparencies of your work to a publisher, gallery or other party.

FAIR DEALING

Under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), there are several exemptions that allow users to reproduce your work without prior permission; these are called 'Fair Dealing' Provisions. These exemptions do however have stipulations such as crediting the creator.

REPORTING THE NEWS

A newspaper, magazine or television news program can reproduce your work if it is reporting the news. An example would be a or television station covering the winners of the Archibald Prize in the evening news program on the day the prize was announced.

REVIEW AND CRITICISM

A newspaper, magazine or television news program can reproduce your work if it is for the purpose of reviewing an exhibition or for critical analysis of an exhibition, book etc. An example would be a newspaper or television program reviewing the exhibition of the Archibald Prize, stating the venue and opening times. Pictured work should be referred to in the review and the artist attributed.