Introduction

At QUT, staff and students are both creators and users of copyright material across teaching, research, and learning activities.

Your engagement with copyright depends on the type of material, its intended use, and your role within the university.

This guide provides an overview of key copyright principles. For more detailed information as it applies to you at QUT, please refer to QUT's intranet.

What is copyright?

Copyright is a form of intellectual property protected by law. In Australia, it is governed by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), which safeguards the rights of creators.

Copyright is designed to protect the economic and moral rights of creators. Under Australian copyright law, economic rights let creators control how their work is used commercially, while moral rights protect their personal connection to the work. Moral rights include the right to be credited, to prevent false attribution, and to object to derogatory treatment.

Copyright is time limited, generally lasting for a period of 70 years after the creator's death. This is to allow the creator and their estate to benefit from their moral and economic rights before the work is released into the public domain. Once a work is in the public domain others can use it freely. For specific detail, refer to the Australian government's duration of copyright table.

What does it cover?

Copyright is the automatic protection given to works that are created in a material form. Protection is given to the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. Copyright applies regardless of whether the copyright symbol © is present. Copyright-protected works include books, articles, conference papers, web pages, computer programs, scripts, artworks, sculptures, engravings, videos, music recordings, and similar materials.

Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property

In addition to copyright, it is critical to follow Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) protocols prior to reusing a work.

ICIP refers to the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to their cultural heritage, encompassing traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, and practices.

Australian copyright law is limited in its ability to protect all forms of ICIP. These gaps in legislation can leave ICIP vulnerable to exploitation if protocols are not followed.

To learn more about ICIP and copyright, see Rights to Culture: Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP), Copyright and Protocols (Terri Janke and Company, 2018).

Creative Commons (CC) licences

CC licences offer a flexible way for creators to share their work while retaining copyright. By applying a CC licence, authors can clearly communicate how others may use, adapt, and redistribute their material. These licences are widely used in education and research because they support open access, collaboration, and the free exchange of knowledge.

If you need help choosing or applying a CC licence, contact the Copyright Service.