Copyright Regulations 1913 (Amendment)

Legislation au C1954L00130 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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STATUTORY RULES.

1954. No. 130.

REGULATIONS UNDER THE COPYRIGHT ACT 1912-1950.*

I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the Copyright Act 1912-1950.

Dated this fifteenth day of December, 1954

Governor-General.

By His Excellency’s Command,

Attorney-General.

Amendments of the Copyright Regulations 1913.†

Short title.

1. Regulation 1 of the Copyright Regulations is amended by omitting the figures “1913”.

Address.

2. Regulation 4 of the Copyright Regulations is amended by omitting the words “Commonwealth Offices, Treasury-place, Melbourne.” and inserting in their stead the words “Copyright Office, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.”.

3. Regulation 9 of the Copyright Regulations is repealed and the following regulation inserted in its stead:—

Hours of business.

“9. The Copyright Office shall be open to the public from ten o’clock in the morning to four o’clock in the afternoon on each day of the week other than—

(a) a Saturday or a Sunday; or

(b) a day observed in the Australian Capital Territory as a holiday under section 76 of the Public Service Act 1922-1953.”.

Unpublished work.

4. Regulation 14 of the Copyright Regulations is amended by omitting the words “Form D” and inserting in their stead the words “Form B”.

Published mechanical musical contrivance.

5. Regulation 15 of the Copyright Regulations is amended by omitting the words “Form E” and inserting in their stead the words “Form D”.

* Notified in the Commonwealth Gazette on , 1954.

† Statutory Rules 1913, No. 338, as amended by Statutory Rules 1934, No. 78; 1936, No. 123; 1945, No. 198; 1952, No. 63; and 1954, No. 81.

4730.—Price 3d. 12.11.1954.

Unpublished mechanical musical contrivance.

6. Regulation 16 of the Copyright Regulations is amended by omitting the words “Form F” and inserting in their stead the words “Form E”.

Performing right in musical or dramatic work.

7. Regulation 17 of the Copyright Regulations is amended by omitting the words “Form G” and inserting in their stead the words “Form F”.

Copy of unpublished work to be forwarded.

8. Regulation 21 of the Copyright Regulations is amended by omitting the words “Regulations Nos. 19 and 21” and inserting in their stead the words “regulation 19 or regulation 20 of these Regulations”.

Statement of address.

9. Regulation 31 of the Copyright Regulations is amended—

(a) by inserting in sub-regulation (1) after the words “statement of address” the words “in accordance with Form G”;

(b) by inserting in sub-regulation (1) after the words “appointment of agent” the words “in accordance with Form H”; and

“(2) The address for service shall be an address which is within the Commonwealth.”.

10. Regulation 34 of the Copyright Regulations is repealed and the following regulation inserted in its stead:—

Declarations.

“34.—(1.) A declaration required for any purpose under these Regulations may be made—

(a) in Australia—before a Notary Public, a Justice of the Peace, a Commissioner for Affidavits, a Commissioner for Declarations or a person authorized to administer oaths or to take declarations under the law of the State or Territory of the Commonwealth where the declaration is made;

(b) in a part of Her Majesty’s dominions other than Australia—before a Judge, Magistrate, Justice of the Peace, Notary Public, a Commissioner for Oaths, a Commissioner for Affidavits, an Australian Consular Office or a person authorized by the law of that part to administer oaths or take declarations; and

(c) in any other place—before a Judge of a court the jurisdiction of which is unlimited, one of Her Majesty’s Consuls or Vice-Consuls, a Notary Public, or an Australian Consular Officer.

“(2.) The title of the person before whom the declaration is made and the date when and the place where it was made shall be stated on the declaration.

“(3.) The Registrar may take notice of the signature to a declaration and of the signature of the person before whom it is made without proof of the signatures or of the fact that the person before whom the declaration is made holds the office stated on the declaration.

“(4.) In this regulation, “Australian Consular Officer” means a person appointed to hold or act in any of the following offices (being an office of the Commonwealth) in a country or place outside Australia:—

(a) ambassador;

(b) high commissioner;

(d) head of mission;

(e) commissioner;

(f) chargé d’affaires;

(g) counsellor or secretary at an embassy, high commissioner’s office, legation or other post;

(h) consul general;

(i) consul;

(j) vice-consul;

(h) trade commissioner; and

(i) consular agent.”.

Alteration of registers.

11. Regulation 35 of the Copyright Regulations is amended by inserting after the words “a request to amend” the words “in accordance with Form K”.

Repeal of Regulation 36.

12. Regulation 36 of the Copyright Regulations is repealed.

Comptroller-General may require fuller information.

13. Regulation 36b of the Copyright Regulations is amended by omitting the word “statutory”.

Second Schedule.

14. The Second Schedule to the Copyright Regulations is amended by omitting the heading “Index to Copyright Forms” and all words appearing under that heading and before the words “Form A.”.

Second Schedule.

15. The Second Schedule to the Copyright Regulations is amended by omitting Form O and inserting in its stead the following Form:—

Copyrights

Form O.

Commonwealth of Australia.

GENERAL NOTICE UNDER SECTION 10 OF THE ACT.

I, , of , being the owner [or agent of the owner] of the copyright in the work [or works] specified in the Schedule hereto, hereby give you notice that copyright in the said work [or works] now subsists and that I am [or where notice is given by the agent that is] the owner of the copyright in the said work [or works] and that I am/he is desirous that copies of the said work [or works] made printed or reprinted out of the Commonwealth shall not be imported into the Commonwealth.

Dated the day of , 19 .

(Signature)

[if an agent insert ‘agent of owner’.]

Schedule.

Title of work (if any)—

Full description of work—

Full name of author or authors—

Whether author or authors alive—

If not, date of death—

When and where work first published—

To the Comptroller-General of Customs.

Second Schedule.

16. The Second Schedule to the Copyright Regulations is amended by omitting from Form P the words “, Canberra, F.C.T.”.

Printed for the Government of the Commonwealth by A. J. Arthur at the Government Printing Office, Canberra.

Overview

The Copyright Regulations 1954 were made under the authority of the Governor-General in accordance with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, to amend the Copyright Regulations 1913, addressing the need for updating the regulatory framework to better align with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1912-1950. These regulations introduced several modifications, including changing the address of the Copyright Office to Canberra, adjusting the business hours, and updating the forms used for various declarations and submissions. The purpose of these amendments was to streamline the administration of copyright matters and ensure compliance with current legal standards. The policy objective appears to be the efficient management and regulation of copyright within the evolving landscape of intellectual property law in Australia.

Scope and Application

The Statutory Rules 1954, No. 130, amending the Copyright Regulations 1913, pertains to the regulation of copyright in the Commonwealth of Australia, specifically under the Copyright Act 1912-1950. This legislative instrument applies to individuals and entities seeking to secure copyright protection for their works within Australia, encompassing both published and unpublished works. It also applies to the administration and enforcement of copyright laws by the Commonwealth Copyright Office, located in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The Regulations provide procedural details such as the forms to be used for registering different types of works, the office hours of operation, and the acceptable locations for making declarations. Notably, these Regulations do not explicitly state exclusions or thresholds; however, they implicitly apply to all copyrightable works within the ambit of the Act. The Regulations are subject to further specification and extension through subordinate instruments, which may include additional forms or detailed procedures not explicitly covered in the primary text.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of these Regulations concern several amendments and insertions into the existing Copyright Regulations. Regulation 1 updates the short title by removing the year "1913" to reflect the current regulations. Regulation 2 changes the address for correspondence from "Commonwealth Offices, Treasury-place, Melbourne" to "Copyright Office, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory." Regulation 9 sets the hours of operation for the Copyright Office, specifying that it will be open from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on weekdays excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays in the Australian Capital Territory. Regulation 4 through Regulation 8 make various changes to the forms required for different types of copyright applications, such as replacing Form D with Form B for unpublished works and Form E with Form D for published mechanical musical contrivances. Regulation 9 removes Regulation 34 and inserts a new regulation concerning declarations, specifying who can administer them and where, and Regulation 10 inserts a requirement for requests to amend registers to be made in accordance with Form K. Regulation 11 repeals Regulation 36, and Regulation 12 amends Regulation 36b by removing the word "statutory." The Second Schedule is amended by removing the Index to Copyright Forms and replacing Form O with a new general notice form under section 10 of the Act. These Regulations impose several obligations and requirements on parties and entities governed by the Copyright Act 1912-1950. Firstly, the Copyright Office must adhere to the specified hours of operation, ensuring it is accessible to the public during designated times. Secondly, applicants for copyright must use the correct forms as updated by these Regulations, such as Form B for unpublished works instead of Form D. Thirdly, declarations required under these Regulations must be made before the appropriate officials, depending on the location, and must include specific details such as the title of the person administering the declaration, the date, and place of the declaration. Additionally, any requests to amend registers must be made according to Form K. There are no explicit offences, penalties, or consequences for breach mentioned within these Regulations themselves. However, breaches of the Copyright Act 1912-1950 or failure to comply with these Regulations could potentially lead to legal actions under the Act, which might include civil remedies such as injunctions, damages, or account of profits, as well as criminal penalties. The specific penalties for breaches of the Act would need to be referenced in the Act itself.

Area of Law: Intellectual Property Law
Instrument: Legislative Instrument
Concepts: Definitions & Interpretation; Reporting & Disclosure Obligations; Regulatory Standards; Enforcement Powers

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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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