Australian Intellectual Property Law

Copyright law regulates the creation, dissemination and use of a range of different types of ‘works’ ranging from books, plays, musical works, computer programs and films through to sound recordings and television broadcasts. In developing the legal framework to regulate copyright, the law has attempted to balance the interests and concerns of copyright owners with those of authors, users and the public more generally. For example, in setting the duration of copyright protection, the law has balanced the interests of copyright owners, who have always argued for longer protection, with those of the public more generally, who have an interest in the duration of protection being more limited.