Copyright in Archives
What is Copyright?
Copyright is the right to control reproduction or publication of the form in which the intellectual content of a piece of work or a document is expressed. Copyright is not about the ideas or information contained in the piece of work or document.
Copyright is established automatically when a piece of work or a document is created, and first ownership of that copyright is vested in the creator.
Copyright is a legal entity which exists separately from custody or ownership of the physical item. Copyright may be legally transferred, sold or bequeathed like any other property.
How Copyright Applies to Archives
The archives collections in the custody of the Northern Territory Archives Service (NTAS) are interpreted to fall within the definition of literary works as defined by the Copyright Act 1968.
While the Northern Territory Government owns most of the archives collections in the custody of the NTAS, it does not necessarily own copyright in all of them.
When considering copyright in the archives collections at the NTAS, there are three distinct categories which need to be addressed:
Copyright in Government Archives
Copyright in all government archives in the custody of the NTAS is owned by the Crown. Virtually all of the government archives in the custody of the NTAS are unpublished.
Permission to copy or publish government archives must be obtained by the NTAS which acts on behalf of the Crown. In the case of government archives which are less than thirty years old, permission will normally be sought from the government agency which is responsible for the archives.
When the NTAS approves the copying of archives in its custody it will generally allow copying of up to approximately 10% of the collection or series of archives concerned.
Copyright in Personal Archives and Archives of Organisations
Nearly all of the hundreds of collections of personal archives and archives of organisations in the custody of the NTAS are owned by the Northern Territory Government. However, copyright in them may not necessarily be owned by the Government. Virtually all of these collections are unpublished.
When private individuals and organisations deposit collections with the NTAS, they are encouraged to transfer their ownership of copyright to the NTAS in order to facilitate efficient management of the collections. In the majority of cases depositors do transfer ownership of copyright to the NTAS. However, some depositors elect to retain ownership of copyright in the archives which they have deposited, and they may stipulate a requirement that any person must seek their permission if they wish to copy or publish parts of the archives which they have deposited.
Where ownership of copyright in an archives collection has been transferred to the Northern Territory Government, permission to copy or publish from the collection must be sought from the NTAS. Where there is a requirement to seek the permission of the depositor to copy or publish from an archives collection, the staff at the NTAS will assist with this.
Where the NTAS holds no documentary evidence of the copyright owner, it will generally allow copying or publishing from an archives collection on the condition that the person seeking to copy or publish from the collection signs an agreement declaring that he/she will not cause any embarrassment to any living person by doing so.
When the NTAS approves the copying of personal archives or archives of organisations in its custody it will generally allow copying of up to approximately 10% of the collection concerned. Where the depositor’s permission is required, the proportion of copying allowed will be in accordance with the depositor’s wishes.
Copyright in Oral History Archives
Oral History Archives are audio recordings and verbatim transcripts of interviews. Although copyright varies within the oral history collection, clearance for copying or publication of any part of an oral history archive must be obtained from the NTAS. For audio material, publication includes broadcast on radio or television, or any electronic medium within the public domain.
As with the personal archives and archives of organisations, copyright in most oral history archives in the custody of the NTAS is owned by the Northern Territory Government. For these archives, only the clearance from the NTAS is required to copy or publish.
However, there are some oral history archives where the person interviewed has stipulated a requirement that any person must seek the permission of the interviewee if they wish to copy or publish parts of the oral history archive which is a record of the interview.
Where the NTAS holds no documentary evidence of the copyright owner, it will generally allow copying or publishing from an oral history archive on the condition that the person seeking to copy or publish from that archive signs an agreement declaring that he/she will not cause any embarrassment to any living person by doing so.
In accordance with the fair dealing rules of the Copyright Act 1968, when making copies of, or publishing extracts of oral history audio recordings or transcripts, no more than 10% of the total recording or transcript may be copied or published.
