not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

public company that facilitates reuse of

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

ed material by third parties, collecting fees and delivering the payments to the creators. Its business names include Viscopy, Rightsportal and Smarteditions. It is officially appointed by the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

to administer the management and payment of royalties to creators, including acting for educational institutions.

History

On 2 July 2012, Copyright Agency and Viscopy (formerly Visual Arts Copyright Collecting Agency or VISCOPY) entered into an arrangement whereby Copyright Agency would manage Viscopy’s business. On 30 November 2017, Viscopy merged fully with Copyright Agency. This name is still retained as a trading name.

What it does

The company has been officially appointed by the

to manage the Australian education copying scheme, under the Statutory Education Licence. It also manages the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

, State and Territory government copying schemes and the Resale Royalty Scheme for artists. Educational institutions (or a body administering an educational institution) may claim a Statutory Educational licence under Part VB of the ''

Copyright Act 1968 The copyright law of Australia defines the legally enforceable rights of creators of creative and artistic works under Australian law. The scope of copyright in Australia is defined in the '' Copyright Act 1968'' (as amended), which applies the ...

'' by: # publishing a notice in the ''

Commonwealth of Australia Gazette The ''Commonwealth of Australia Gazette'' is a printed publication of the Government of Australia, Commonwealth Government of Australia, and serves as the official medium by which decisions of the executive arm of government, as distinct from Go ...

'' (

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...

institutes, full-time primary and

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

s, pre-schools and

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

s are exempt from this requirement); and # Completing the Statutory Educational license notice and returning to CAL; and # Entering into a CAL Educational license by completing the agreement and returning to CAL. An annual fee is payable by participating educational institutions based on estimated usage of copyright material, usually determined by student numbers.

John Fries Award

The John Fries Award was established in 2010, named in honour former Viscopy director and honorary treasurer, John Fries. Awarded annually to an emerging

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

s, it is a non-acquisitive art prize worth , sponsored by the CAL Cultural Fund, UNSW Galleries and Art Van Go.

Copyright Agency Partnerships

In April 2021, the Copyright Agency’s cultural fund announced the launch of a Copyright Agency Partnerships (CAP) three-year artistic commission series, in partnership with 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, and the

Institute of Modern Art The Institute of Modern Art (IMA) is a public art gallery located in the Judith Wright Arts Centre in the Brisbane inner-city suburb of Fortitude Valley, which features contemporary artworks and showcases emerging artists in a series of group an ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. The commissions, worth , are designed to support mid-career and established

s with a commission as well as a solo exhibition, and will run for three years (2021–2024). The granting of the award is judged by representatives of the three institutions and an independent peer. The inaugural winner of the award was TextaQueen, whose project ''Bollywouldn’t'' will be exhibited at A4 in 2022.

Commentary

Nicholas Gruen Nicholas Gruen (born 1957) is a prominent Australian economist and commentator on economic reform, innovation and the CEO of Lateral Economics. He is a Visiting Professor at King's College London's Policy Institute. He was formerly Chair of the A ...

commented in 2008 that the cash-strapped educational sector was paying unnecessarily high royalties to CAL, and suggested that a public subsidy to content creators. He also criticised CAL for seeking royalties from for old surveyors' maps held in the

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governme ...

land registry Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, possession, or other rights in land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of title, facilitate transactions, ...

, for which surveyors have already been paid and which had been deposited on the public record and therefore free for use.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.copyright.com.au
Copying Rights for Educational Institutions
Australian copyright law Legal organisations based in Australia Mass media companies of Australia Year of establishment missing Copyright agencies