Copyright quiz: how well do you know your rights?

Correct answer: As soon as it is created in material form, with no formality Under the Copyright Act 1968, an original work is protected automatically as soon as it is written down, recorded or otherwise put in material form. No registration is needed: a filing does not create the right, it helps you prove it.

Correct answer: No, Australia has no official copyright register IP Australia registers trade marks, designs, patents and plant breeder's rights, not copyright. Because protection is automatic, it is up to you to keep evidence that you created the work and when: dated drafts, files kept by a trusted third party.

Correct answer: To keep evidence that you are the author and of when the work existed In a dispute, the party who can prove the earliest date has the advantage. A dated filing kept by a trusted third party is evidence of that date: it does not create rights, it helps prove them.

Correct answer: No, only the way the idea is expressed Copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. Write your project down in detail and date that document: the expression is protected, and the date is your evidence.

Correct answer: The author's life, then 70 years after the end of the year of their death The term went from 50 to 70 years on 1 January 2005. The change did not revive works whose authors died before 1955: they stay in the public domain.

Correct answer: No, but it warns that the work has an owner Protection does not depend on any formality. A © notice with the owner's name and the year is still a useful warning that discourages copying.

Correct answer: ® is only for registered trade marks; ™ shows a sign used as a brand, registered or not Falsely representing a trade mark as registered is an offence under the Trade Marks Act 1995. ™ has no legal effect of its own: it only shows that you consider the sign to be your trade mark.

Correct answer: Both: copyright covers the artwork, the trade mark covers its use as a brand An original logo design is an artistic work protected as soon as it is created. Registering it as a trade mark with IP Australia gives you exclusive rights to use it as a brand for the goods and services listed.

Correct answer: The text, images, original design and code Each original element of a site is a work: text, photos, illustrations, code. A domain name is not a work; it can be protected in other ways, for example as a trade mark.

Correct answer: No, unless you have permission, a licence, or an exception in the Act applies Being online does not make an image free to use, and a credit is not permission. You need the owner's permission, a licence (for example Creative Commons), or one of the fair dealing exceptions, which only cover specific purposes.

Correct answer: No, but the author can consent to acts that would otherwise infringe them Under Part IX of the Copyright Act 1968, moral rights (attribution, against false attribution, integrity) belong to the individual author and cannot be transferred. The author can give written consent to specific acts or omissions. Check what your contracts say.

Correct answer: Yes, as a literary work, source code included The Copyright Act 1968 treats computer programs as literary works. The ideas, methods and features behind them are not protected by copyright.

Correct answer: Yes, as fair dealing for criticism or review, with sufficient acknowledgement Australia has no general "fair use" exception. Fair dealing is allowed for specific purposes, such as criticism or review with sufficient acknowledgement of the work, research or study, parody or satire, and reporting news. The dealing must stay fair: an excerpt in proportion to the purpose.

Correct answer: The music and lyrics and, separately, the sound recording The music and lyrics are works of their authors. The sound recording is separate subject matter with its own copyright, owned by its maker and shown by the ℗ symbol.