Copyright (International Protection) Regulations (Amendment)

Administered by Attorney-General's Department

Legislation au F1996B01592 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

STATUTORY RULES 1991 No. 451

Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General

Section 249 of the Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.

Amendments have been made to the Copyright (International Protection) Regulations (the Regulations) to extend protection under the Act to broadcasters which transmit broadcasts from countries which are members of the International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations (the Rome Convention). These amendments, together with those to protect foreign performances (see accompanying Statutory Rules No. ), will enable the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to seek Executive Council approval for Australia to accede to the Rome Convention.

Subsection 184(1) of the Act, in paragraph (f), provides that the regulations may make provision applying any of the provisions of the Act (other than those of Part XIA) specified in the regulations, in relation to a country (other than Australia) so specified, so that the provisions apply in relation to television broadcasts and sound broadcasts made from places in that country by persons entitled under the law of that country to make such broadcasts in like manner as these provisions apply in relation to television broadcasts and sound broadcasts made from places in Australia by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, by the Special Broadcasting Service, by a holder of a licence or permit granted under the Broadcasting Act 1942 or by a person prescribed for the purposes of subparagraph 91(a)(iii) or 91(c)(iii) of the Act.

Subsection 184(3) of the Copyright Act 1968 provides that regulations applying any of the provisions of the Act in relation to a country, not being a country that is a party to a Convention relating to copyright to which Australia is also a party, shall not be made unless the Governor-General is satisfied that, in respect of the class of works or other subject matter to which those provisions relate, provision has been or will be made under the law of that country by virtue of which adequate protection is or will be given to owners of copyright under the Act.

The amendments to the Regulations will extend protection to broadcasters based in, and making broadcasts from, countries which are members of the Rome Convention, a Convention of which Australia is not, as yet, a member. Article 2 of the Rome Convention imposes an obligation of providing national treatment on all member countries, ie, a member country must provide to nationals of other member countries the same protection as is accorded to its nationals, being at least the minimum protection guaranteed by the Convention. These amending regulations would, together with the amending regulations to protect foreign performances (Statutory Rules No. ), satisfy Australia's obligation to provide national treatment upon acceding to the Convention. Australia already provides national treatment in relation to makers of sound recordings from Rome Convention countries. Because of the obligation on each member country on becoming a member of this Convention, to which it is proposed Australia will accede, to provide national treatment to broadcasters of other member countries, the Governor-General is satisfied, in accordance with the provisions of subsection 184(3) of the Act, that adequate protection will be given to Australian broadcasts in those countries set out in the Schedule inserted by the amending regulations.

Details of the regulations are at Attachment A.

[91R025]

ATTACHMENT A

DETAILS OF THE COPYRIGHT (INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) (THE REGULATIONS)

NOTES ON CLAUSES

Regulation 1: Commencement

This regulation provides for the regulations to commence on 1 January 1992.

Regulation 2: Amendment

This regulation provides for the Copyright (International Protection) Regulations to be amended as set out in these regulations.

Regulation 3: Interpretation

This regulation amends regulation 3 of the Regulations. The definition of "at a material time" and "the country of origin" in subregulation 3(1) are amended by omitting the words "other subject-matter" wherever they occur from these definitions and substituting "subject-matter other than a work".

The definition of "at a material time" in subregulation 3(1) is further amended by adding a provision extending the definition, in relation to sound broadcasts and television broadcasts, to mean the time when that broadcast was made.

A new definition of "relevant broadcaster" will be inserted into subregulation 3(1) and will mean a broadcasting organisation that:

(a) has its headquarters in the country from which the sound broadcast or the television broadcast, as the case may be, is made; and

(b) is entitled under the law of that country to make that sound broadcast or that television broadcast, as the case may be.

This definition is consistent with the reservation Australia will make pursuant to Article 6 of the International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations.

Subregulation 3(2) will be amended by inserting the words "a sound broadcast, a television broadcast" after the words "sound recording".

Subregulation 3(4) will be omitted as a result of the reunification of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic.

Subregulation 3(5) will be amended by omitting the words "other subject-matter" wherever occurring in the subregulation and substituting the words "subject-matter other than a work".

Regulation 4: Application of the Act

Subregulations 4(3) and 4(4) of the Regulations are amended by omitting the words "other subject-matter" wherever they occur and substituting the words "subject-matter other than a work".

Subregulation 4(5) will be amended by omitting the words "Part II or Part III" and substituting the words "Part II, Part III or Part IV", thus ensuring that the Act applies to incorporated broadcasters in the countries specified in Part IV of Schedule 1 in the same way as it does to Australian broadcasting corporations.

A new subregulation 4(6) will provide for copyright protection in Australia for relevant broadcasters, as defined in new subregulation 3(1), who transmit broadcasts from countries specified in Part IV of Schedule 1.

Regulation 5: Restriction of the application of the Act to certain classes of published works and to subject matter other than works

Subregulation 10(2) is amended by omitting the word "shall" and substituting the words "is to".

Regulation 6: Application of the Act in relation to broadcasts

A new regulation 10A is inserted which provides that, in spite of subregulation 4(6), copyright does not subsist in a sound broadcast or a television broadcast made from a place outside Australia before the commencement of this regulation.

Regulation 7: Modification of application of Provisions of the Act to works and to certain subject-matter other than works

This regulation amends regulation 11(1) and 11(2) by omitting the words "other subject-matter" wherever occurring and substituting the words "subject-matter other than a work (but not subject-matter that is a sound broadcast or a television broadcast)".

Regulation 8: Modification of application of Provisions of the Act to sound broadcasts and television broadcasts

A new subregulation 12(1) is inserted which provides that if a person has, at any time before the commencement of this regulation, taken action by which he or she has incurred expenditure or liability in connection with the doing of an act in relation to a sound broadcast or a television broadcast in a manner that at the time was lawful, or for the purpose of or with a view to the doing of an act in relation to a sound broadcast or a television broadcast at a time when the doing of the act would, but for the making of this regulation, have been lawful, nothing in the Principal Regulations diminishes or prejudices any right or interest arising in connection with the action that is subsisting and valuable immediately before the commencement of this regulation unless the person who, by virtue of the operation of those Regulations, has the exclusive right to do the act agrees to pay reasonable compensation to the first-mentioned person.

A new subregulation 12(2) is inserted which provides that where a person takes action by which he or she has incurred expenditure or liability in the circumstances described above, and before an amendment of the Principal Regulations comes into operation which includes the name of a country in Part IV of Schedule 1, nothing in the Principal Regulations diminishes or prejudices any right or interest arising in connection with the action that is subsisting and valuable immediately before the commencement of the amendment unless the person who, by virtue of the country being included in Part IV of Schedule 1, has the exclusive right to do the act agrees to pay reasonable compensation to the first-mentioned person.

A new subregulation 12(3) is inserted which provides that for the purposes of subregulation 12(2), if Part IV of Schedule 1 is remade, and on the remaking, the name of a country is included in the Part where immediately before the remaking, the name of the country was not included in Part IV, then the remaking of the Part is taken to be an amendment of the Principal Regulations that inserts the name of the country in Part IV.

Regulation 9: Schedule 1

This regulation adds a new Part IV to Schedule 1 of the Principal Regulations consisting of a list of the member countries of the Rome Convention.

Regulation 10: Schedule Schedule 3

This regulation omits the words "Federal Republic of Germany" and the "German Democratic Republic and substitutes the words "Germany, Federal Republic of" in Schedule 3.

Overview

The Copyright (International Protection) Regulations (Amendment) 1991 was enacted to address the need to extend copyright protection to broadcasters from countries that are members of the International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations (the Rome Convention). The Copyright Act 1968 was amended to provide a framework for regulating copyright protection in relation to broadcasts made from abroad, particularly from countries that are not yet members of international copyright conventions to which Australia is a party. The amendments were made to facilitate Australia's potential accession to the Rome Convention, ensuring that Australia would be in compliance with the Convention's national treatment obligation. The policy objective was to harmonise Australia's copyright laws with international standards, thereby providing adequate protection to Australian broadcasters and ensuring reciprocal protection for foreign broadcasters operating within Australia. The enacting body responsible for these regulations was the Governor-General, exercising authority under Section 249 of the Copyright Act 1968.

Scope and Application

The Copyright (International Protection) Regulations (Amendment) 1991 extends the application of the Copyright Act 1968 to broadcasters transmitting broadcasts from countries that are members of the International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations, commonly known as the Rome Convention. This amendment allows Australia to satisfy its obligations under the Rome Convention, which requires member countries to provide national treatment, meaning equal protection, to broadcasters from other member countries. The regulations apply to broadcasters with headquarters in member countries of the Rome Convention who are legally entitled to make broadcasts within their home country. These broadcasters are now afforded the same copyright protections in Australia as those granted to Australian broadcasters under the Act. This amendment is designed to facilitate Australia's potential accession to the Rome Convention, enabling the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to seek Executive Council approval for such accession. The regulations also include provisions to protect broadcasters who have incurred expenditure or liability in relation to broadcasts prior to the amendment coming into effect, ensuring that their rights and interests are not prejudiced by the changes.

Key Provisions

The Copyright (International Protection) Regulations (Amendment) 1991 (No. 451) makes several significant amendments to the Copyright (International Protection) Regulations, which were originally made under the Copyright Act 1968 (the Act). These amendments serve to extend the protection of Australian copyright laws to broadcasters from countries that are members of the International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations (Rome Convention). The amendments, which come into effect on 1 January 1992, include changes to the definitions, application, and restrictions of the Act as detailed in the attached regulations. The obligations imposed by these amendments on broadcasters from Rome Convention countries are primarily to ensure that their broadcasts are treated under Australian law in the same way as broadcasts made within Australia by Australian entities. The regulations amend the definition of "relevant broadcaster" to include any broadcasting organisation that has its headquarters in a Rome Convention member country and is legally entitled to make the broadcast. Furthermore, they require that the Act apply to sound and television broadcasts made from these countries in the same manner as it applies to broadcasts made within Australia by Australian broadcasters. This extension of protection is in line with the national treatment principle of the Rome Convention, which mandates that member countries provide the same level of protection to nationals of other member countries as they do to their own nationals. These regulations also establish specific conditions and exceptions to ensure the protection of broadcasters who have already invested in lawful broadcasts. For instance, if a person has incurred expenditure or liability in connection with a lawful act concerning a sound or television broadcast before the amendment's commencement, their rights and interests are preserved unless the person with the exclusive right to the act agrees to pay reasonable compensation. This provision aims to protect the interests of broadcasters who have already invested resources into lawful broadcasts before the regulations came into effect. In terms of potential breaches and penalties, the regulations themselves do not explicitly outline specific offences or penalties for non-compliance. However, under the Copyright Act 1968, infringement of copyright can lead to both civil and criminal penalties. Civil penalties include damages or an account of profits, while criminal penalties can result in fines and imprisonment. The specific penalties depend on the nature and extent of the infringement, with the maximum penalties varying based on whether the infringement is for personal use or for commercial gain. It is essential for broadcasters and other entities governed by these regulations to comply with the amended provisions to avoid facing these potential legal consequences.

Area of Law: Intellectual Property Law
Instrument: Regulation
Concepts: Definitions & Interpretation; Commencement Provisions; Regulatory Standards

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.

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