Copyright

Copyright infringement and breach of copyright needs to be taken seriously. The faster you put a copyright infringer on notice of your rights the easier it is to stop them infringing your rights. You need to move quickly so that the person does not start to feel he/she has a right to use your works.

Putting an infringer on notice of your rights in copyright works also puts you in a better position to claim additional damages for infringement. Additional damages are discretionary but awarded with the infringer has flagrantly and willfully infringed your rights. If you put a person on notice of your rights (through a rights notification letter) and the person does not stop infringing your copyright rights, then you can use that notification as evidence of their willful behaviour.

You should take care when putting other traders on notice of your copyright rights as the Copyright Act contains provisions against making groundless or unjustified threats. If you send unjustified threats, then you might find yourself having to defend yourself in Court. Always obtain the opinion of a qualified copyright lawyer before sending any threats.

Copyright registration is not possible in Australia, but in some other countries you are required copyright registration before taking action to enforce your copyright rights.

We provide general copyright rights advice:

• advice on whether Copyright exists in a work
• advice on limitations of use of the work
• drafting Copyright assignment documents
• infringement advices
• Injunctions
• innocent infringement, the fair dealing defences and other defences
• unjustified threat opinions
• software theft cases
• software and copyright protections

And also specific advice on ownership of Copyright Works:

• how to secure copyright rights
• where to register copyright rights and why
• enforcing rights in Australia and overseas
• how to mark your copyright material to protect it
• authorship advice
• ownership of Copyright works by employees
• ownership of Copyright works by contracts

Australia does not have a general use exceptions to infringement of copyright. We do have express defences which can be relied upon only in some circumstances. We also have an innocent infringement defence, which is not simple to reply upon. There may be other defences that apply to your situation.

If you need advice on a claim, call EAGLEGATE now.

EAGLEGATE’s founding Partner, Nicole Murdoch, is an Engineer, is an Australian Registered Trade Marks Attorney and has over 10 years experience registering , commercialising and enforcing trade marks. She is a Doyle’s Guide recommended IP lawyer and holds a Masters in the subject matter. She aims to settle cases on commercially sensible and economic terms without having to proceed to court.