Summary

13.1 Some uses of copyright material by educational institutions are the subject of free-use exceptions in the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Other uses are paid for through licensing arrangements.

13.2 Educational institutions should continue to pay for many uses of copyright material, particularly when reasonable and efficient licences are offered by rights holders. An incentive to create is necessary not only for writers, publishers and other rights holders, but also for the students and educational institutions that need educational resources.

13.3 However, the ALRC considers that exceptions to copyright are appropriate for some educational uses of copyright, and proposes that the fair use exception should be applied when determining whether an educational use infringes copyright. Further, ‘education’ should be an illustrative purpose in the fair use exception.

13.4 If a fair use test is not enacted, the ALRC proposes that a new ‘fair dealing for education’ exception be introduced. This would also require consideration of what is fair, having regard to the same fairness factors in the fair use exception.

13.5 In Chapter 6, the ALRC proposes the repeal of the statutory licences in pts VA and VB of the Copyright Act. These statutory licences appear to be unsuitable for a digital age. Rights holders, collecting societies and educational institutions should be able to negotiate more flexible and efficient licensing arrangements voluntarily.