Copyright Agency Annual Report 2021

Download annual report as PDF here.

1               Introduction

1.1            Some key results

In 2021–21 Copyright Agency:

• enabled copying and sharing of content by millions of Australians without the individual copyright clearances otherwise required, including:
• nearly 300,000 teaching staff in in more than 9,500 schools for more than 4 million students[1]
• 130,000 university staff for 1.4 million university students[2]
• 670,000 students (341,000 FTE) in 24 TAFEs in 2,300 locations[3]
• teachers in more than 1,000 other education institutions, such as registered training providers
• more than 880,000 government employees[4]
• staff in nearly 900 licensed businesses.
• allocated $102m to more than 17,000 recipients, many of whom passed on payments to multiple ultimate recipients (e.g. literary agents to their clients) or shared payments with other recipients (e.g. under book publishing contracts)
• collected $1.2 million in artists’ resale royalties
• licensed nearly 900 businesses with blanket licences, including 58 new clients
• reached an agreement with Streem for its media monitoring services[5]
• completed proceedings in the Copyright Tribunal to determine licence fees payable by two other media monitoring organisations[6]
• applied to the Copyright Tribunal for assistance with new data collection methodologies for the school sector, to harness new technologies and reduce the administrative burden on teachers[7]
• completed proceedings in the Copyright Tribunal to establish new data collection methodologies in universities, and fair compensation for writers, artists and publishers[8]
• licensed, under individual agreements, nearly 1,000 other education institutions (such as registered training organisations), including 75 newly licensed institutions
• continued the development and deployment of Flex for Education: at 30 June, there were 18 licensees (some comprising multiple colleges), a further 32 were running a trial, and 55 had expressed an interest in a trial
• represented our members in government inquiries and reform proposals, including the Parliamentary inquiry into Australia’s creative industries and proposals for amendments to the Copyright Act
• welcomed more than 600 new members
• approved nearly $2m for 99 projects from the Cultural Fund (members’ contribution of 1.5% of licence revenue)
• increased Reading Australia subscribers by 11% to nearly 22,000, and added 28 new teaching resources for schools
• sponsored the Miles Franklin Literary Award, the Reading Hour, Australian Book Industry Awards, Educational Publishing Awards, Walkley Awards for Journalism and Sydney Contemporary Art Fair

1.2           Effects of COVID-19

1.2.1           Licences for the education sector

We have a four-year agreement for the school sector, from 2019 to 2022, that sets a fixed price per full-time equivalent (FTE) student per year as follows:

There is no provision for review of the licence fees during the period of the agreement, which means that there is no provision to increase the fee for increased copying and sharing of content under the education statutory licence during lockdown periods.

Licence fees payable by the university sector are being determined by the Copyright Tribunal, following an application by us in 2018 for assistance from the Tribunal with the approach to assessing the value of the education statutory licence for the sector, particularly for digital use, and data collection arrangements.[9] The proceedings were completed in September 2020, and the Tribunal is preparing its determination. In May 2019, the Tribunal ordered that, pending a determination by the Tribunal, universities continue to pay the annual licence fee in the agreement applying to 31 December 2018, with half the licence fee available for distribution and the other half to be held in escrow.[10] That determination has not been affected by COVID-19.

We also have licences with more than 1,000 other education institutions. They are listed on our website.[11] Some of the licensees in that sector have been affected by COVID-19, particularly those with significant proportions of overseas students.

1.2.2          Data collection from the education sector

There is information on our website about pre-pandemic data collection arrangements from schools and universities, via surveys.[12]

Our four-year agreement with the school sector included provisions on working together to develop new data collection arrangements. At the time the agreement was made, we envisaged that the data collection arrangements in place at the time would continue while those negotiations were in train. However, the data collection from schools was paused in March 2020 due to COVID-19. In late 2020, we and the school sector agreed to continue the pause while negotiations continued, given the ongoing uncertainties about COVID-19. In May 2021, we applied to the Copyright Tribunal for assistance with developing new data collection arrangements. Our position statement to the Tribunal makes clear that the application is not intended to be adversarial, and that a key consideration is reducing the burden on teachers involved in data collection arrangements.

1.2.3          Licences for other sectors

Our licences for other sectors include the statutory licence for the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments (see https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/government-licences/), and licences for the business, not for profit and local government sectors (summary https://www.copyright.com.au/membership/licence-participation/).

The licences for the government sector have not been affected by COVID-19. Some of the other licences have, however, been affected where COVID-19 has had an impact on a licensee’s revenue and/or staff numbers.

1.2.4          Our members

While the impact of COVID-19 on the copyright fees we collect for members has so far been relatively small, COVID-19 has affected other sources of revenue for our members. This includes sources of revenue for creators from public interactions such as appearances at literary festivals, speaker fees and school visits.

1.3           Additional information about Copyright Agency

Apart from the information in this annual report, there is additional information about Copyright Agency:

• from the links from our Governance and Policy webpage,[13] which include:
• corporate documents: Constitution; Corporate Governance Statement
• government appointments and guidelines: Declaration as collecting society for education statutory licence; Declaration as collecting society for government statutory licence; Guidelines for declared Collecting Societies
• Annual reports, Annual Reviews and lookbooks
• Annual General Meetings: notices and minutes
• Code of Conduct for Australian collecting societies
• International codes of conduct: IFRRO Code of Conduct; CISAC Professional Rules
• Policies and procedures: Distribution Policy: Client Service Charter; Complaints procedure; Dispute resolution procedure; Whistleblowing Disclosure Form
• Data processing protocols agreed with licensees
• from the infosheets about distributions available on our website

We have also included references to further relevant information on the topics covered in each section of the report.

2             Copyright Agency at a glance

2.1           More information

• About Us webpage[17] including links to:
• What we do
• Staff, board and international affiliates
• Governance and policies

3             About copyright

The objective of copyright law is ‘to give to the author of a creative work his just reward for the benefit he has bestowed on the community and also to encourage the making of further creative works’.[18]

Copyright rights are granted by the Copyright Act.[19]  Copyright applies to designated ‘forms of expression’ such as writing, music and images. The ‘owner’ of a copyright has exclusive rights to do certain things such as copying, making available online, broadcasting and public performance. No registration is required for copyright: rights are granted ‘automatically’ on creation of a designated form of expression.

Copyright is a form of ‘intellectual property’: it is ‘owned’ and can be licensed and transferred to others.[20]  The Copyright Act determines the first owner of copyright (usually the creator). Creators also have ‘moral rights’ in their work (relating to attribution and the ‘integrity’ of their work), even if they do not own copyright.[21]

The artists’ resale royalty right (artists’ entitlement to a share of the resale price for artworks) is often regarded as a copyright-related right, though it differs from copyright rights in a number of respects, and in Australia is granted by stand-alone legislation.[22]

Rights usually last for 70 years after the creator’s death.[23]

The Copyright Act contains a range of ‘exceptions’: activities that can be done without the copyright permissions usually required. The Act also contains a number of ‘statutory licences’ that allow copying and sharing of content (e.g. for education) without permission, but subject to fair compensation.[24]

The copyright system is international, involving national legislation that conforms with standards in international treaties.[25]

3.1           About statutory licences

Statutory licences have been introduced for situations in which it was assumed ‘that, if left to themselves, the parties will be unable to reach a satisfactory resolution of the terms for the access desired’ for reasons that include ‘unacceptably high transaction costs in cases where individual uses would be too difficult to identify and control’ and ‘the user is in a powerful initial position and has been able to obtain a statutory solution in its favour’.[26]

Statutory licences are compulsory for content creators but not for licensees: users can choose to make alternative arrangements with copyright owners for uses covered by statutory licences, rather than relying on the statutory licence provisions.[27] Content creators have adjusted to the statutory licences, which were introduced a long time ago and enable efficient licensing solutions.

Copyright Agency is appointed (‘declared’) by the Australian Government to manage statutory licences for the use of text, images and print music by the educational and government sectors.[28]

A statutory licence for education was introduced in 1980 following the recommendations of an expert committee,[29] extensively amended in 2000 to enable digital uses of content (such as making content available on an intranet and emailing),[30] and simplified in 2017 following a joint proposal from Copyright Agency, Screenrights and education sector representatives.  In 1990, the Attorney-General’s Department produced guidelines for ‘declared’ collecting societies, which are reflected in Copyright Agency’s Constitution.[31]

A statutory licence for governments was introduced in 1968 as part of the current Copyright Act, following the recommendation of an expert committee,[32] and was amended in 1998 to facilitate collective management.[33]

Statutory licences are consistent with Australia’s international treaty obligations, and exist in other countries, but are more prevalent in Australia than elsewhere.[34]

The Copyright Tribunal has power to determine a range of matters associated with statutory licensing, including the compensation payable, data collection, and distribution of compensation to content creators.

3.2          More information

• Australian Copyright Council information sheets and copyright guides[35]

4             Our business: an overview

4.1           Revenue by category

These figures are for revenue recognised for the 2020–21 financial year, rather than received in that period. [36]

4.2          Revenue and distributions at a glance

Each year’s distributions include some money received before that year, depending on when the funds and data for allocation were received. For more on payments to content creators, and funds received in 2020–21 for distribution in 2021–22, see Parts 11 and 13. For Expenses, see Part 14.

4.3          Revenue and distributions 2017–21

5             Education sector licensing

The statutory licence scheme for education in the Copyright Act allows copying and sharing of text and images for education, by educational institutions, provided there is fair compensation to content creators.[42] Copyright Agency was appointed by the Australian Attorney General in 1990 to manage the scheme.

There is a similar scheme for broadcast content (e.g. documentaries, films and current affairs), managed by Screenrights.[43]

The schemes apply to both not-for-profit and for-profit educational institutions. The amount of fair compensation can be determined by the Copyright Tribunal if it cannot be agreed.

Most schools (all government schools, and most Catholic and independent schools) are represented by the Copyright Advisory Group (CAG Schools)[44] in negotiations for fair compensation and data collection arrangements. All Technical and Further Education (TAFE) colleges (apart from those in Victoria)[45] are represented by CAG TAFE. Australian universities are represented by Universities Australia.[46]

Copyright Agency also negotiates individual agreements with about 1,000 independent educational institutions. Some of these agreements cover activities in other countries, based on authorisation from our members rather than the statutory licence. We also offer a joint licence, with music licensing bodies, to the early childhood sector, which is based on authorisation from our members rather than the statutory licence.

For total revenue from the education sector, see 4.1 Revenue by category.

5.1           Australia’s education statutory licence compared

Australia’s education statutory licence is broader than licensing arrangements in other territories such as the UK and New Zealand. For example, key points of difference between Australia and the UK are:

5.2         Educational publishing in Australia

The other key difference between Australia and the UK is that Australian markets are much smaller: often state-based due to variations in state and territory curricula. In addition to the textbooks and other materials published by the Australian offices of large publishing companies, there are many medium, small and micro businesses publishing Australian educational resources.

One of the factors for determining the licence fees payable by the education sector under the education statutory licence is the ongoing production of education resources in Australia.[56] This reflects the clear benefit to all Australians of adequate investment in the sustainability of quality Australian educational resources.

5.3          Developments in 2020–21

• in response to COVID-19:
• reassurances to policy makers that we and our members understand the challenges that teachers are facing, and support practical approaches that enable teachers to deliver online teaching during lockdowns
• assisting our members to respond to requests for assistance from schools
• special ‘story-time’ arrangement from Australian Society of Authors and Australian Publishers Association to allow teachers to record readings of stories for children to view online
• webpage on Online Teaching in Lockdowns[57]
• continued pause in data collection from schools
• continuation of modified data collection from universities
• providing flexible payment plans to affected individually licensed education institutions
• hearing before the Copyright Tribunal to establish new data collection methodologies in universities, and approach for determining fair compensation for writers, artists and publishers, having regard to technological and other developments since the previous application to the Tribunal more than 20 years ago[58]
• application to Copyright Tribunal to assist with new data collection methodologies from schools that harness opportunities provided by new technologies and reduce the reporting burden on teachers
• individual licence agreements with more than 1,000 other education institutions (such as registered training organisations), 75 of which are newly licensed institutions

5.4          Total cost of education for school students

According to the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, the recurrent government funding for school education in 2018–19 was $61.6 billion: about $16,700 per student.[59]

Compensation to content creators under the statutory licence is less than 0.1% of this funding.

5.5         Licence fees for the school sector

The current four-year agreement for the school sector (2019–22) was negotiated between us and the Copyright Advisory Group for the (then) Education Council (CAG) in 2018.

That agreement sets an amount per student per year. The amount decreases each year so that in 2022 it will be about 25% less than the amount per student in 2018.

Under the agreement, the rates are fixed irrespective of external developments. That includes COVID-19 even though copying and sharing of content may increase while schools are doing online teaching during lockdown periods.[60]

The negotiations that led to the current agreement took into account a large range of matters, as is common in any large commercial negotiation.

These included:

• uses recorded in surveys in schools that were excluded in accordance with the data processing protocols agreed with CAG;[61]
• overall discounts for certain classes of use;
• content used by schools under direct licences from rightsholders; and
• treatment of content available online.

In the data processing protocols agreed with CAG, processing exclusions include:

• quotations and extracts of three paragraphs or less;
• material created by school staff;
• media releases;
• exam papers used for assessment purposes;
• logos;
• advertisements and branded material; and
• content published by government departments and agencies.

The negotiations also included adjustments for uses such as the following:

• ‘small portions’;
• copying from ‘blackline masters’;[62] and
• content that may lack sufficient ‘originality’ to be protected by copyright.[63]

The processing protocols also covered exclusion of directly licensed content, including by:

• notifications from CAG that content is directly licensed for the entire school sector;
• reports from surveyed schools on content that they have direct licensing arrangements for; and
• checking with surveyed schools whether they have direct licences for other content that they have accessed via a login.

We and CAG have also agreed on a classification system for online content, into 10 categories.[64] In the 2018 negotiations, we agreed that two of the five categories that had previously been treated as ‘remunerable’ for negotiations would now be treated as ‘non-remunerable’.  The remaining four categories that we and CAG agreed would be treated as ‘remunerable’ are those with:

• terms of use that allow personal use only;
• terms of use that provide that copying of content from the site is prohibited;
• terms of use that provide that content from the site may be copied and shared under the education statutory licence; and
• content accessible via a login that has not been directly licensed to the surveyed school.

5.6         Data collection from schools

In the current agreement, we and CAG agreed to work together on new data collection arrangements that harness opportunities provided by new technologies and reduce the reporting burden on teachers. The agreement provides that either we or CAG could apply to the Copyright Tribunal for assistance with these new arrangements if we were unable to reach agreement by September 2020. In May 2021, we applied to the Copyright Tribunal for that assistance. Our position statement to the Tribunal makes clear that our application is not intended to be adversarial, and that reducing the administration burden on teachers is a key concern.[65] The application does not preclude ongoing discussions between us and CAG.

The surveys of use conducted in schools are currently paused. We are reviewing other sources of information for assistance with distribution of licence fees, in combination with data we have from past usage.

5.7          What teachers copy under the educational statutory licence

The education statutory licence allows teachers to copy and share content that they would otherwise need permission for. They do not need permission for content that has been published for free use in schools, such as material published by governments or with a Creative Commons licence, or for copying and sharing in accordance with the terms of use of content that they have purchased, such as an online subscription.

In 2019, about 70% of copying and sharing under the education statutory licence was from books. Most were textbooks, and many were workbooks (activity books), particularly in primary schools. There is a list of commonly copied titles on our website.[66]

Teachers also copied and shared from newspapers and magazines (about 2% of copying), from online sources (about 17%), and from other sources (about 12%).

The material that teachers copied and shared from online and other sources included worksheets, activity sheets, student resources, fact sheets, practice tests, lesson plans and images.

5.8         Universities

In September 2018, Copyright Agency made an application to the Copyright Tribunal to set a new rate and monitoring system for the university sector, when it became clear that these matters would not be resolved by negotiation. The last time that the Copyright Tribunal was asked to determine the rate for universities was 20 years ago. The Tribunal heard the case in September 2020. The Tribunal has made interim orders regarding the payments to be made by universities until it makes its final determination.[67]

5.9         Individually licensed institutions

As at 30 June 2021, we had 1,050 individual agreements in place with education institutions, 75 of which are newly licensed institutions (58 commercial institutions, and 17 non-commercial institutions).

Roughly 58% of the individually licensed institutions are not-for-profit, and the remainder for-profit. The institutions include pre-schools, schools and colleges offering higher education degrees, as well as Vocational Education and Training (VET) level diplomas and certificates 1–4. Some offer specialist education, such as theological studies, business studies and English language training.

The for-profit institutions are mostly very large private colleges and registered training organisations (RTOs) offering tertiary education. The not-for-profit institutions include training arms of government bodies, private or community kindergartens, community colleges, smaller RTOs and charitable RTOs.

While we enter into agreements with these institutions individually, we liaise with peak bodies for various classes of institution with a view to:

• increasing understanding of copyright and licensing issues;
• providing licensing information to their members; and
• designing licences that are appropriate to the needs of their members.

5.10       Early Childhood Licence

We offer a joint licence, with music licensing bodies, to cater for the needs of early childhood education and care providers.[68]

5.11        Engagement with education sector

Our licensing staff engage with the education sector in a variety of ways, including participation in education conferences and other events, webinars and individual training sessions. These activities were more limited in 2020–21 due to COVID-19. Engagement included:

• VELG National VET Conference – Online October 2020
• NEAS Management Conference – Sydney May 2021
• Australian Copyright Council – Webinar series for educational institutions September 2020 & March 2021
• IHEA – Information Webinar for member colleges February 2021

In addition to this, over 75 general copyright and FLEX training sessions were delivered to individual education providers.

5.12       More information

• webpages on Copying Under the Education Licence[69] and Online Teaching in Lockdown[70]
• top 50 books teachers copied in 2018–19[71]

6             FLEX for tertiary education

We have developed an online product called FLEX, which makes the preparation of course reading material simpler and faster for librarians and educators in tertiary institutions.

Among other features, FLEX customers get access to participating publishers’ digital content, get to share scan copies and can order high-quality scans from the British Library. FLEX also enables management of course material from other sources, such as content in the licensed institution’s library, open access content, and content available online.

FLEX allows visibility of reading list content at a course level, which (among other things) assists us with distribution of licence fees, and enables easy digital assignment of content to students.

As at 30 June 2021, we had deployed FLEX with 18 licensees (some comprising multiple colleges), a further 32 were running a trial, and 55 had expressed an interest in a trial.

Participating publishers that provide digital content currently include: Allen & Unwin, Australian Academic Press, Bloomsbury Publishing, Cengage, CSIRO, HarperCollins, McGraw-Hill, Pearson, PsychOz, Oxford University Press, Wiley, Wolters Kluwer, Elsevier US, Aspire Learning Resources, Kilbaha Education, NewSouth Publishing, Emerald Publishing, Taylor & Francis, and Thomson Reuters.

6.1           More information

Our FLEX webpage[72] includes links to:

• ‘Introducing Flex’ animation
• key features for FLEX
• FAQs about FLEX

7             Government sector licensing

The statutory licence for governments allows Commonwealth, State and Territory government departments and agencies to make any use of any copyright content for the services of the government.[73] Copyright Agency has been ‘declared’ by the Copyright Tribunal as the collecting society authorised to collect and distribute ‘equitable remuneration’ for government copying of text images and print music.[74] Copyright Agency also licenses, as agent for its members, the communication of text, images and print music.[75]

There are arrangements with State and Territory governments for payment of royalties from sales of survey plans that are separate to the arrangements for other activities done by governments under the statutory licence.

The statutory licence does not apply to government-related entities that are not ‘the Crown’, or to local governments, but Copyright Agency offers other licences for them (based on authorisation from members).

Licence fees paid by the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments are based on a per-employee (full-time equivalent) rate of $7.30 per year.

7.1           Developments in 2020–21

• agreements finalised:
• Commonwealth (to June 2022)
• ACT (to June 2022)
• New South Wales (to June 2023)
• Northern Territory (to June 2024)
• Western Australia (to June 2022)
• renewals in progress for the remaining jurisdictions, slowed by COVID-19 lockdowns
• agreement with ACT finalised for sales of survey plans, both retrospective and prospective
• agreement with Victorian government for sales of survey plans extended to June 2024

7.2          Number of government employees

The table below indicates the number of employees (full-time equivalent: FTE), according to the most recent reports we have received.

7.3          More information

• what is covered by our agreements with the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments for copyright sharing by their staff[77]
• which departments and agencies are covered by those agreements[78]
• sales of survey plans by governments[79]

8             Commercial licensing

Members, including copyright management organisations in other countries, can appoint us as their agent to include their works in various licence schemes we offer. Licensees include corporations and not-for-profit organisations.

We offer ‘blanket’ annual licences, which cover uses of all works we represent. We also offer ‘pay-per-use’ (transactional) licences, including through an online automated facility.[80]

The licences do not cover works that are listed on Copyright Agency’s website as excluded works,[81] but do include an indemnity for uses of other works not represented by us.

Licence fees reflect the value of the licences (e.g. compared to other commercial licensing arrangements).

For total revenue from commercial and other voluntary licences, see 4.1 Licence fees by sector.

8.1           Developments in 2020–21

• 58 new clients resulting in about $378,000 of new business in licence fees from the corporate sector
• 803 existing clients valued at $5.6m of retained licences
• continuation of monitoring program for corporate websites with infringing newspaper content, with a view to increased uptake of licences in the corporate sector
• settlement agreement with one major media monitoring organisation
• two hearings by Copyright Tribunal regarding licence fees payable by two other major media monitoring organisations[82]

8.2          Licences for the corporate sector

In addition to our general licence for corporations, we have licences covering the specific requirements of:

• pharmaceutical companies
• public relations (PR) companies
• law firms
• Australian-based firms with offices in other countries

Other licence schemes include:

• media monitoring (as agent for newspaper and magazine publishers)
• inclusion of journal articles and other works in commercial subscription services

8.3          Not-for-profit sector

We offer licences for a range of not-for-profit entities, including incorporated associations, unincorporated associations, societies and unions. We have specific sector licences for:

• local governments;
• religious organisations; and
• civil celebrants

8.4          Transactional (pay per use) licences

We offer transactional (pay per use) licences in two ways:

• an automated online service (RightsPortal);[83] and
• a manual clearance service.

The automated service currently applies to newspaper content (text, but not images).

For content not yet covered by the online facility, we offer a manual clearance service. Licensees make a request via the RightsPortal, and we respond within 48 hours. We liaise with the rightsholder, who decides whether or not to license and sets a price, and manage the licence arrangements, invoicing and payment.

Most of the users of these services are publishers.

8.5         Engagement with licensees

The Commercial Licensing team engages with current and potential licensees in a variety of ways. In 2020–21, this was affected by COVID-19. The team conducted 65 training sessions with a range of organisations around Australia.

And the team participated in the following conferences Industry events:

• Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) – Online Annual conference October 2020
• LG Professional, Victoria –Corporate Partners – Online February 2021
• LGNSW – Conference in the month of November 2020
• Association of Corporate Counsel – Online November 2020
• Association of Regulatory and Clinical Scientists – Conference June 2021

8.6         More information

• Webpage on commercial licensing[84] with links to:
• guides on annual licences for different sorts of businesses
• guides to pay-per-use licences
• information for clients of media monitoring licences

9             Artwork licences

Copyright Agency licenses the use of fine art and other artworks. Most of the artwork licences are pay-per-use (rather than ‘all of repertoire’). There are also ‘blanket’ licences that cover agreed uses for all artist members, in advance of the use. The uses are reported after the event.  This type of licence is used in conjunction with long-term licence agreements and to assist administration of high volume uses.

9.1           Developments in 2020–21

• licensing worth nearly $2.3m
• significant licences included those for Babarra and Kip & Co, fashion with the MAARA Collective, Adairs with Miimi and Jiinda, Western Australia Museum digital presentation, New Zealand’s Tepapa Museum Surrealist exhibition, a fabric collaboration for Babarra art centre with Magpie Goose, a product branding licence with L’Oréal, a book licence for Albert Namatjira, furniture collaboration between Billy and Lulu Cooley of Maruku arts centre and Altone Furniture, and Katie Nalgood prints for Adina Apartment Hotel’s Vienna Belvedere.
• public galleries, auction houses and commercial licences contributed 78% of the licensing revenue this year, with commercial licences in home furnishings, architectural, rugs, merchandise, branding, fashion and event uses.
• artists licensed include those mentioned above, plus Robert Klippel, Salvador Dali, Picasso, Betty Muffler, Joy Hester, Lindsay Bird, Elisabeth Cummings and many more.
• the 2020 John Fries Award continued to be recognised as an important national award for emerging and early career artists. The 2020 JFA finalists’ exhibition was postponed until March 2O21. That exhibition was a celebratory conclusion to the decade long partnership between the Fries Family and Copyright Agency presenting the John Fries Award.
• Copyright Agency will continue to support visual artists through the Cultural Fund and in April this year announced the launch of the ‘Copyright Agency Partnerships’ three-year commission series. In partnership with leading Australian arts institutions 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art (Sydney), the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (Melbourne), and the Institute of Modern Art (Brisbane), CAP will support mid-career and established visual artists with an $80,000 artistic commission and solo exhibition opportunity.

9.2         More information

• visual arts licensing webpage[85] including links to:
• Visual Arts Licensing Portal
• Image Bank of 3,000 images of our Australian and New Zealand members’ works[86]
• price guide
• examples of products with images we have licensed, such as clothing, homewares and books

10        Artists’ resale royalty scheme

The artists’ resale royalty scheme commenced on 9 June 2010. Copyright Agency was appointed by the Minister for the Arts to manage the scheme in May 2010.

The scheme requires payment of a 5% royalty of the sale price for certain resales of artworks by Australian artists.[87] It also requires the reporting of all resales with a sales value of $1,000 or more to Copyright Agency, with sufficient information to determine if a royalty is payable. A royalty is not payable if the seller acquired the work before the scheme commenced.

There is a dedicated website – resaleroyalty.org.au – which has an online reporting facility, and online registration for artists and art market professionals to provide contact details.

10.1        Developments in 2020–21

• as at 30 June 2021, the scheme had generated over $10m in royalties from nearly 24,000 resales benefitting over 2,200 artists[88]
• over $1.6 million in royalties was generated in 2020–21, higher than any previous year, and a 19% increase on the prior year
• artists who receive royalties includes artists at all stages of their careers, from emerging to senior, living all around Australia, including in remote communities
• 65% of artists receiving royalties are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists
• 214 artists received a royalty for the first time in 2020–21
• our engagement activities continue to show a high level of awareness and understanding of the scheme amongst art market professionals
• we adjusted aspects of our services (in particular, stakeholder engagement, research and monitoring activities) in early 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19, and this has continued for 2020–21
• as a result of the Australia­–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement, we are expecting to enter into reciprocal arrangements with the UK, which has had a scheme in place since 2006

10.2       Summary of resales

The following shows the percentage of resales reported to Copyright Agency that met the eligibility criteria for payment of a royalty, by payment range.[91]

10.3       Payments by state/territory

The following shows payments by state and territory, from the commencement of the scheme in June 2010.

10.4       Stakeholder engagement

Due to COVID-19, the majority of activities were delivered online in 2020–21.

Key activities included:

• Information sessions and meetings to discuss resale royalty at or in conjunction with key events included Ku Arts Conference Strong Arts Program, IACA Art Worker information session and the Desart Conference, these forums are utilised to reach artists, art centre managers, arts workers and art market professionals.
• Information sessions to artists via professional development programs and artist studio talks included 10 Projects, Zetland, Shepparton TAFE – Centre for Koori Education.
• Articles to improve compliance, provide clarity on eligibility criteria and support efficient administration of the scheme included:
• Ability to provide voluntary resale reports
• The Resale Royalty Right: Scheme Performance 2010 to 2021
• How blockchain might assist Resale Royalty
• information to artists and art market professionals via email alerts and through our visual arts eNewsletter, CANVAS – Copyright Agency News for Visual Artists, which has a distribution to more than 11,300 recipients (400 more than last year)
• advocacy and policy representation of artists’ interests including:
• participation in IP Australia Indigenous expert reference group as part of their Indigenous Knowledge Project
• submission on Growing the Indigenous Visual Arts consultation paper

10.5       More information

• Artists Resale Royalty website[92]
• Office of Arts Resale Royalty Scheme webpage[93]
• Australian Government Post-Implementation Review of resale royalty scheme[94]

11          Payments to content creators

Copyright Agency acquires data for distribution from a variety of sources, including surveys of usage by licensees and data that indicates content available to licensees. There are a series of processes involved in allocating payments to content creators based on the best data available at a reasonable cost within the relevant time period. These include analysing the available data, applying relative values for different types of content and uses, and identifying content creators. The processes are sometimes complex, accounting for the time between receipt of licence fees, allocation, and payment.

Distribution policy is overseen by the Board, and published on our website.[95]

The Copyright Tribunal has power to review distribution arrangements for statutory licence fees.

In 2020–21, we allocated payments to more than 17,000 unique recipients, many of whom pass on payments to multiple ultimate recipients (e.g. literary agents to their clients) or shared payments with other recipients (e.g. under book publishing contracts). Our payments also support the staff and principals of companies and firms, many of whom are creating content for their firms.

11.1         Payments to content creators by licence sector and publication type

The following table show estimates of allocations to content creators according to type of publication the content was copied from, where relevant, and licence sector. It also shows the amounts for the annual artists’ and writers’ royalty claim distributions. These are amount set aside from licence fees for artists and writers where there is limited usage data, and are in addition to allocations from other sources, such as to artistic works copied from books or websites in schools and universities.

11.2        Recipients by state and territory

11.3        Allocation recipients for 2020–21

The following tables show amounts allocated in 2020–21, some of which may be paid in subsequent financial years.

11.3.1         Recipient categories

11.3.2       Schools

The licence fees for separate distribution are for writers and artists who do not have arrangements with publishers for a share of Copyright Agency allocations. We combine similar amounts set aside from other licence fees, and do a single annual distribution for artists and writers respectively from the combined pool of fees. The number of recipients the table is for the combined pool.

The remaining licence fees are distributed to recipients who include publishers, writers and artists. Some writers and artists receive payments directly from us, where we have information about their arrangements with publishers for sharing Copyright Agency allocations. More than 2,400 writers and artists (principally contributors to books) received direct allocations from the 2021 ‘main’ distribution, in addition to the writers and artists who received allocations from the dedicated distributions for writers and artists. Other writers and artists received payments indirectly from their publishers, in accordance with their publishing contracts.

Recipients of Copyright Agency payments also have writers and artists on staff, or are self-publishers of content that they create. Copyright Agency payments support those businesses and jobs.

11.3.3        Universities

The amount available for distribution to members was less than 2018 and previous years because of the proceedings in the Copyright Tribunal to determine the future licence fees and monitoring system. In May 2019, the Tribunal ordered that, pending the final determination, the universities would continue to pay the amount payable under its previous remuneration agreement that expired in December 2018 with half going to Copyright Agency (for distribution to members) and the other half going into escrow.

11.3.4        TAFEs

11.3.5       Other education providers

11.3.6       Governments

The allocation of licence fees compensation from governments in 2020–21 was (apart from that from survey plans) mostly based on data from various sources indicating content that was available to governments to use during the licence period (rather than information about actual use). We used different data sources for different types of content (such as books, journals, newspapers and images), in accordance with the best data available to us at the time at a reasonable cost.[98]

11.4        Payments to individual creators

All content is created by individuals. They do so in a large variety of scenarios. The scenarios include:

1. it is part of their salaried employment: for example, they are on the staff of a publishing company as a writer, illustrator, editor or software developer;
2. they are commissioned to create specific content (e.g. that a publisher requires for a textbook) for a payment;
3. they create content, then look for a publisher; and
4. they create work that they choose to license for free because they are not dependent on income from their content.

In educational publishing, (1) and (2) are more common than (3). In trade publishing, (3) is common for fiction, and (2) more common for non-fiction.

Payment options for (2) and (3) include:

1. an upfront fee that includes a copyright buyout;
2. an upfront fee and royalties from sales; and
3. an advance against future royalties, then royalties once the advance is recouped.

In (b) and (c), publishing contracts commonly provide that the creators will receive all Copyright Agency payments (rather than sharing them) when a book is out of print.

We have partial information about Copyright Agency payments for individual creators who are contracted by publishers to create content in return for a fee. This is where members have provided us with information about how payments are to be shared among rightsholders.

Our information about the following is very limited:

• how many individual creators are on the staff of companies that receive Copyright Agency payments;
• the components of upfront fees that relates to buyout of future Copyright Agency allocations;
• the sharing arrangements for Copyright Agency payments for books that we do not yet have registered shares for.

In 2020–21, we made direct allocations to more than 13,000 individuals, totalling nearly $16m.  We also made allocations to more than 80 agents for writers and artists, totalling more than $1.5m, to pass on to multiple clients. We made allocations to more than 60 copyright management organisations, totalling more than $9m, to pass on to their members, who include artists, writers and songwriters. Other allocations were to businesses that employ content creators, and that share payments for books with writers and artists.

11.5        More information

• distribution policy[99]
• deductions from licence fees (fees)[100]
• distribution schedule, including links to infosheets[101]
• unpaid allocations[102]

12        Cultural Fund

Copyright Agency’s Constitution allows the Board to allocate up to 1.5% of income to support writers, visual artists, publishers, creative organisations and Reading Australia through the Cultural Fund.[103] With an annual budget of approximately $2 million the Cultural Fund supports a wide variety of projects each year.

In 2020–21, $1,968,339 was approved through the Cultural Fund for 99 projects, including six Create Grants, four Copyright Agency Fellowships, one Publishing Industry Career Development grant, and for Reading Australia. 28 multiyear projects funded previously were also paid in 2020-21 and are included here for the first time to present an overall summary of Cultural Fund support.

12.1        Recipients by category 2020–21

Some of the amounts paid were approved in previous years.

12.2       Projects supported by the Cultural Fund in 2020–21

The following projects were approved for funding in 2020–21. These, and projects supported in previous years, are described in more detail on our website.[104] In some cases, the funding was approved for a project spanning up to three years.

12.3       Fellowships 2020–21

The following applicants were successful for Fellowships in 2020–21.

12.4       CREATE grants 2020–21

The following applicants were successful for Create Grants in 2020–21.

12.5       Publishing Industry Career Development Grants

Brigid Mullane, commissioning editor at Ultimo Press, will attend the NonfictioNow conference in New Zealand, in December 2021.

12.6       Reading Australia

Reading Australia (readingaustralia.com.au) is a Copyright Agency initiative to assist the teaching and reading of Australian literature in Australian schools. The Cultural Fund allocates approximately $100,000 a year to Reading Australia for:

• commissioning new resources and material for teachers
• partnerships with education, libraries, publishers and writers’ organisations
• conferences and stakeholder engagement and for website development; and
• the Reading Australia Fellowship for Teachers of English and Literacy

It has been developed in partnership with the Australian Association for the Teaching of English, the Primary English Teaching Association Australia, the Australian Literacy Educators Association and the Association for the Study of Australian Literature.

Reading Australia began as a list of 200 books chosen by a panel from the Australian Society of Authors to celebrate the work of leading Australian writers and illustrators. Recently the focus has been to publish resources for books that are being taught in schools and for important literary titles that should be taught in the classroom.

A further 246 titles, covering all genres and periods of Australia’s literary history, have been added to Reading Australia.

Resources are available for 233 titles, aimed at Foundation to Senior Secondary. These educational resources are designed to help teachers navigate Australian texts within the framework of the Australian Curriculum. The secondary-level titles are also accompanied by 100 essays written by eminent authors, academics and critics. The website additionally features video interviews with authors, including 10 created in partnership with ABC Education (formerly ABC Splash), and podcasts from The Garret with accompanying resources.

20 titles have AustLit trails, which are curated collections of information covering the title’s context, themes, and more, as well as links to academic research and publications.

12.7       Reading Australia Developments in 2020–21

• 7% increase in subscriber numbers from 19,831 to 21,951
• Total pageviews for the year are 841,964 – on par with results from 2019–2020 (841,890)
• New resources:
• 12 new resources for secondary teachers – 139 in total
• 16 new resources for primary teachers – 94 in total
• Charmaine Ledden-Lewis commissioned to create colouring sheets for Reading Australia’s illustrator gallery
• The second Reading Australia Fellowship for Teachers of English and Literacy was awarded to Karen Yager (Knox Grammar School, NSW)
• A total of 26 resources published in partnership with The Garret podcast, accompanying interviews with Reading Australia authors and illustrators
• Partnership with the Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation to develop a playwriting competition for upper primary and lower secondary students
• Partnerships with Nelson Cengage and Penguin Random House to give away new books and resources to Reading Australia subscribers
• Engagement with Australian publishers to source potential titles for resource development

12.8       More information

• Cultural Fund webpage[105] including links to:
• how to apply for funding
• projects and people supported by the fund

13         Money held for payment to rightsholders and reserves

At any given time, we are holding money for payment to rightsholders and reserves. The amount of money for payment to rightsholders changes significantly over the course of a year, increasing with the receipt of licence fees, and decreasing with the payments to rightsholders.

The reasons that licence fees may not have been paid at a given date include:

• the licence fees were only recently received;
• we have not yet received the information needed to allocate to rightsholders; and
• fees have been allocated, but not yet paid, to rightsholders.

13.1        Money held at 30 June 2021 for payment to rightsholders

As at 30 June 2021, there was $28.33m for payment to members representing:

13.2       Licence fees received but not yet allocated

The table below shows licence fees we are holding that have not yet been allocated. We make a deduction for anticipated operating costs and for the Cultural Fund before we allocate to rightsholders.

13.3       Time between invoice and distribution of licence fees from schools and universities

Licence fees were due from the school sector in April 2021 for January to December 2021, and allocated to rightsholders in June 2021. Most allocations were paid to rightsholders by 30 June.

Licence fees payable under the interim arrangements with Universities Australia set by the Copyright Tribunal are invoiced quarterly and paid to members twice a year, in December and June. The fees for January to June 2021 were due in April 2021, allocated to rightsholders in June 2021, and mostly paid to rightsholders by 30 June 2021.

13.4       Why allocated funds have not yet been paid

The government guidelines for declared collecting societies refer to the following as reasons for a collecting society holding unpaid allocations:

• the society has lost contact with the member concerned;
• the qualified person entitled is not currently a member;
• the relevant copyright owner or agent entitled to the amount is not finally ascertained;
• there is a dispute as to entitlement;
• the accumulated aggregate amount due to a member would be uneconomic to distribute, ie, is below a threshold limit;
• a portion of funds collected cannot be allocated immediately as there is presently inadequate data for apportionment;
• monies are required, under mutual arrangements, to be held pending acquittal with a foreign society; and
• it is desired to set aside a specific sum to meet ex gratia claims which might later arise in respect of the current period[107]

The following is a breakdown of allocations that we were holding at 30 June 2021.

13.5       Unpaid allocations for return to members

We are required to hold allocations from statutory licence fees for at least four years. Under our current distribution policy, allocations from non-statutory licence fees can be released after 12 months. The Board determines how unpaid allocations that are no longer held for specific rightsholders (‘rollovers’) will be applied.

At 30 June 2021, we were holding a total of $3.38m in allocations made more than four years earlier:

• $2m from allocations made in 2016–17; and
• $1.38m from allocations made in previous years.

The table shows the sources of licence fees that remained unpaid in 2020–21 from allocations in 2016–17. There is a breakdown in the 2020 annual report of allocations in 2015–16 and earlier that remained unpaid at 30 June 2020.

13.6       Reasons allocations were not paid in 4 years

13.7       Steps taken to locate rightsholders

When we allocate an amount to a non-member rightsholder, we create a non-member account in our membership database, with any contact details available to us at the time. Our steps for locating rightsholders include researching contact details, direct contact by email or phone, and indirect contact via relevant professional associations, such as associations for writers, artists, publishers and surveying firms. Rightsholders for whom we are holding allocations include members who have not updated their contact and bank details with us, as well as non-members. In order to keep our operating costs at a reasonable level, our application of resources to locating a rightsholder needs to be proportionate to the amount allocated to the rightsholder. In 2020–21, we admitted more than 600 new members (membership is free), which included rightsholders with allocated amounts.

13.8       Reserves as at 30 June 2021

As at 30 June 2021, there was $12.95m in reserves, representing:

13.9       Reservation of amounts for continued operations and contingencies

The Australian government guidelines for collecting societies that are appointed to manage statutory licences allow us to reserve amounts from allocation and distribution for continued operation and contingencies.[113]

Costs associated with continued operation include ‘day to day’ costs, such as staff salaries, leasing costs and data collection for distribution of licence fees. They also include costs associated with the long-term sustainability of our services to members, such as investment in the information technology that supports those services, advocacy to maintain or improve the regulatory settings that underpin those services, and proceedings in the Copyright Tribunal to determine future licence fees and data collection arrangements.

We have funds available for distribution from three sources: licence fees, interest on licence fees, and amounts allocated to rightsholders that we were unable to pay after a period of time (rollovers).

Our current practice is that amounts available for distribution principally comprise licence fees received. We distribute the balance of licence fees we receive, after a deduction for anticipated operating costs for the financial year and a deduction for our Cultural Fund. There is information about those deductions on our website.[114] In 2020–21, the total deduction (anticipated operating costs and Cultural Fund) ranged from 10% to 15%.

We currently include interest on licence fees in our calculations of the deductions from licence fees for anticipated operating costs: that is, the interest effectively reduces the deduction.

We current apply some unpaid allocations (rollovers) to meet expenses.[115] This also has the effect of reducing the deductions for anticipated operating costs.

In the past, the Board has decided to hold interest and rollovers for potential future expenses, in the light of external circumstances at the time and the best interests of members in those circumstances. It regularly reviews these amounts in the light of changing circumstances, to assess the company’s need for reserves for future expenses and whether funds should be released from reserves to meet expenses associated with long-term member benefits.

13.9.1       Establishment of Future Fund in 2013

In 2013, the Board considered the best interests of members, and potential costs associated with continued operation, in the light of the following external circumstances:

• the decision of Canadian education institutions to not renew their licensing arrangements with the copyright management organisation, Access Copyright; and
• recommendations by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), in its draft report, to both introduce a US-style ‘fair use’ exception and repeal the education statutory licence.

The Board considered that there was a real risk that developments similar to those in Canada could eventuate if the ALRC recommendations were implemented.[116] It therefore decided to hold interest and rollovers in reserve to meet potential future expenses associated with continued operation in the event of developments such as had occurred in Canada.

The Board has reviewed the reserve periodically since it was established, as noted in previous annual reports and Directors’ Reports.

In 2017, the Board reported that it had determined to maintain the Fund but that it would periodically review the need for it and any amounts no longer required for safeguarding members’ interests would be returned to members.

13.9.2      Funds allocated and spent to 30 June 2021

13.9.3      Use of the Fund in 2020–21

In accordance with a Board decision to reduce the Fund over time, $2.0m was released from the Fund in 2020–2021 and used to meet expenses associated with proceedings in the Copyright Tribunal. These proceedings seek assistance from the Copyright Tribunal in determining equitable remuneration payable by universities, future data collection arrangements from the university and school sectors, and licence fees payable by media monitoring associations. The Tribunal has been asked for assistance because negotiations between us and licensees on the implications of major changes brought about by digital technologies did not result in agreed outcomes. The Tribunal’s determinations for universities and media monitoring companies will affect licence fees for both 2020–21 and future years.[117]

The use of reserved funds has the effect of reducing the deductions from licence fees for operating costs, and enabling a higher proportion of licence fees to be distributed to members.

13.10    Indemnity Fund

Copyright Agency has an Indemnity Fund to compensate rightsholders for use of their content in connection with licences managed by Copyright Agency. For example, Copyright Agency’s Distribution Policy provides for an ex gratia payment to a rightsholder who can establish that their work was substantially copied under a licence, but who received little or no payment for that use (for example, because the use occurred in a school that did not participate in the surveys of copying that were used for distribution).

13.11     Funds for distribution and reserves at 30 June 2014–21

13.12    More information

• distribution policy[118]
• unpaid allocations[119]

14        Expenses

In 2020–21, the deduction for anticipated operating costs from most of the licence fees distributed was 13%, and the deduction for the Cultural Fund was 1.5%.[120]

Copyright Agency’s Board must approve the company’s annual operating budget. Any proposed changes to directors’ remuneration must be approved by members at a general meeting. The largest component of operating costs is salaries.

14.1        Operating costs in 2020–21

• Revenue recognised: $129.03m
• Total expenses met from deductions from licence fees: $19.14m

14.2       Operating costs to revenue ratio

The following represents our operating costs, met from deductions from licence fees, as a proportion of our total revenue.

14.3       Other expenses

In addition to expenses met from deductions from licence fees, we also met some expenses from unpaid allocations (‘rollovers’), and from reserves.

These were one-off investment expenses that affect member benefits in future years as well as the current year. They relate to investment in new IT systems, and Copyright Tribunal proceedings that will affect future licence fees and data collection. They also include investment of reserve funds that were held by Viscopy when it merged with Copyright Agency in 2017.

14.4       Staff remuneration and performance

All employees have a position description outlining the responsibilities and key competencies required for their role. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are set each financial year and cascaded down from the senior management team to ensure alignment with the business requirements. They are then reviewed and agreed upon by employees with their manager, and performance objectives and targets are determined.

Our employees have one formal performance review each year, during which an individual’s performance is reviewed against the agreed objectives. Recommendations for annual remuneration are based on:

• the assessment of each employee’s performance against those objectives;
• benchmarking against similar positions in comparable organisations;
• overall company performance; and
• market and economic conditions.

Final decisions regarding remuneration are made after considering managers’ recommendations, external benchmarks and environment, salary relativities within the company and our financial capacity.

• In 2020–21, employee benefits expense was 9.7% of total revenue (65.5% of our operating costs)
• Staffing levels vary from time to time in accordance with requirements
• Staff include full-time employees, part-time employees and contractors
• In 2020–21, staffing levels ranged from 72.4 full-time equivalent (FTE) to 85.2 FTE
• At 30 June 2021, there were 72.4 FTE staff
• As at 30 June 2021, the median remuneration (including superannuation) for all staff was $121,010

Staff remuneration greater than $153,600[123] as follows:

14.5       More information

• Fees webpage[125]
• Our People webpage[126]

15        Members

Membership of Copyright Agency is free.  Anyone with a copyright interest in a text work or image can apply for membership.[127] Applications for membership are approved by the Board.

Until November 2017, there were three classes of membership: ‘author’, ‘publisher’ and ‘collecting society’.[128] Since then, there has been an additional class of member – visual artist – as a result of the merger with Viscopy.

People can choose to be a member solely for entitlement to any statutory licence compensation allocated for use of their works, or they can choose to also authorise Copyright Agency to license reproduction and communication of their works. This authorisation is non-exclusive; they can also license these uses themselves.

For a number of reasons, we only make payments to members, but our systems enable payment to new members for past usage. Many members who receive payments share them with others, including non-members. For example, many authors receive Copyright Agency payments indirectly via their publisher rather directly from Copyright Agency.

15.1        Developments in 2020–21

• new member portal with features that include:
• simpler application process for new members
• dynamic payment reports
• clear visibility of publications and survey plans in our system connected to online accounts
• facility for members to upload additional publications and survey plans
• streamlined systems for requesting and providing payment shares for books
• functionality for creator members to register publications containing their works
• self-serve management of licence participation

15.2       Members at 30 June 2021

In 2020–21, 614 new members were admitted to membership. Some memberships also ceased for various reasons (e.g. companies that ceased trading).

Many rightsholders are not direct members of Copyright Agency, but are represented by (and receive payments from) our members. For example, there are nearly 1,600 writers represented by literary agents who are members, and more than 7,600 artists represented by artists’ agents and Indigenous art centres.

Thousands of writers and illustrators also receive payments via their publishers, rather than directly as members.

15.3       Members by profile

15.4       Member enquiries

The Member Services team answered more than 15,000 enquiries in 2020–21, mostly from members.

Many members are now getting the information they need from the online Help Centre: there were more than 35,700 views of information on the Help Centre in 2020–21.

Of the customers who provided feedback on the response to their enquiry, 96% were satisfied with the response.

The Member Services team responded to more than 95% of enquiries within four hours.

15.5       More information

• Member webpage[130] including links to:
• How to apply
• Licence participation
• Payments to members

16        International agreements and engagement

The non-statutory licences offered by Copyright Agency are dependent upon the authorisation given by members to license their content, and the authorisation of foreign content creators through their collective management organisations (CMOs). Copyright Agency therefore has agreements with foreign CMOs that enable us to include foreign works in Australian licences, and to also collect payment from foreign CMOs on behalf of members when Australian works are included in foreign licences.

The maintenance of those agreements requires active management, affected by a range of external developments including changes in regulatory frameworks and business practices.

Copyright Agency is a member of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO)[131] and the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC).[132] Copyright Agency plays an active role on the IFRRO Committees, and is on the Executive Committee of CISAC visual arts body, CIAGP.[133] Copyright Agency is also a member of the Press Database and Licensing Network (PDLN)[134].

16.1        Agreements

Copyright Agency currently has agreements with 37 rights management organisations around the world that are members of IFRRO and represent rightsholders for the text/image sector. We also have 38 agreements in place with CISAC visual arts societies, as well as with 5 foreign artist estates/foundations.

New agreements in 2020-21:  ASCRL (USA) – unilateral agreement, March 2021.

We monitor for new opportunities to include additional repertoire under our voluntary licences, and to ensure that Australian rightsholders are appropriately represented in the international space.

16.2       Revenue

Foreign revenue is influenced by many external factors, including fluctuations in usage, legislative changes, and variations to foreign affiliates’ business practices and distribution policies.

Revenue from foreign CMOs over the past 5 years:

In 2020–21, the top five sources of international revenue were:

16.3       International engagement in 2020–21

Due to circumstances related to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, all international engagement was undertaken remotely in FY 2020–21.

• Chaired 3 IFRRO Asia Pacific Committee Meetings, 16 -17 July 2020, 26-28 October 2020, 18/25 March 2021, focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on global creative industries and collective management organisations in the region
• Presented on collective management and the Australian model at the Copyright Forum Series on the Publishing Sector, hosted by Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), 25 September 2020
• Participated in IFRRO Annual General Meeting, which took place remotely throughout November 2020, including Legal Issues Forum, the Newspapers and Periodicals Working Group, and Visual Arts Working Group.
• Contributed to CISAC CIAGP Annual meeting 6 November 2020, representing visual arts licensing and resale rights developments in the Asia Pacific region
• Participated in CISAC Asia-Pacific Committee, 25 November 2020
• Participated in the Philippines-Korea Copyright Forum: Non-Face-to-Face Education and Copyright Issues” Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), 26 November 2020
• Presented at PDLN Update – Australian Developments, 25 February 2021, focussing on implementation of News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code
• Contributed to CISAC Strategies for Creative Industries Meeting, 26 May 2021
• Participated in CISAC Asia Pacific Committee Meeting, 3/10 June 2021
• Participated in CISAC General Assembly, 30 June 2021

16.4       More information

• International affiliates[135]
• IFRRO[136]
• CISAC[137]

17         Policy and advocacy

We monitor and seek to influence policy developments that affect copyright-based licence fees and other income for content creators. We form policy positions in consultation with a range of stakeholders, including industry and professional bodies representing content creators.

The objects in Copyright Agency’s Constitution include:

• to promote and foster the interests of owners of copyrights and neighbouring rights; and
• to support or oppose any legislation which might affect the Company’s interests.[138]

Members expect us to represent their interests, and that we will retain an appropriate proportion of licence fees in order to do so. The extent of that representation is affected by external developments, including recommendations for changes to legislation that adversely affect content creators.

We encourage and facilitate the copying and sharing of content on fair terms. In particular, we want teachers to be able to focus on their critical teaching role, knowing that they can copy and share the best teaching resources for their students. Teachers support a copyright framework and simple guidelines that enable them to do this. They also support fair payments to the creators of the content they copy and share, many of whom are current or former teachers. The system works best when those responsible for copying and sharing by teachers and others recognise that fair payments support the long-term sustainability of quality content, particularly Australian content.

17.1        Developments in 2020–21

In August 2020, the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts announced some proposed changes to the Copyright Act.[139] Some of the proposals related to matters canvassed in a consultation process in 2018, referred to as ‘Copyright Modernisation’. These were ‘orphan works’ (material for which a potential user cannot find a copyright owner), quotation, libraries and streamlining the statutory licence for governments (following the streamlining of the education statutory licence, by consensus, in 2017). We supported sensible reforms in these areas.

Other proposals related to the education sector. While we do not think legislative change is necessary given the breadth of the current framework for the education sector, we support measures that would reduce apparent confusion and concern, particularly in connection with teaching during lockdown periods.

Other developments in 2020–21 were:

• Parliamentary inquiry into Australia’s creative and cultural institutions;[140]
• Parliamentary inquiry into the Aboriginal flag;[141]
• Consultation Paper on Growing the Indigenous Visual Arts Industry;[142]
• copyright recommendations in a draft report from the Productivity Commission on the Right to Repair.

17.2       International developments

17.2.1        Canada: Supreme Court decision in York University case

The Canadian Supreme Court released its decision on the long-running Access Copyright v York University case on 30 July 2021. The case concerns the decision by Canadian educational institutions, in 2013, to rely on the fair dealing provisions in the Canadian copyright legislation rather than renew their licences with the copyright management organisation, Access Copyright. The case involved two issues: whether a tariff set by the Canadian Copyright Board is mandatory for unlicensed education institutions, and whether York University’s fair dealing guidelines reflected Canadian law. The Court held that the tariff is not mandatory for unlicensed institutions, and that consequently it did not need to consider the second issue. However, it made some comments on fair dealing that differed from the decision of the Full Federal Court.

The outcome of the decision is that, after 10 years of litigation, Canadian writers and publishers will need legislative change to support re-instatement of collective licensing as a support for future Canadian educational content.

17.2.2      Other developments

Other developments include:

• Canada: consultation on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things;[143]
• UK: consultation on ‘exhaustion’ of intellectual property rights, including rules that constrain ‘parallel importation’ of books into the UK without the licence of the rightsholder for the book in the UK;[144]
• UK: voluntary scheme, initiated by a large seller of second-hand books, to pay royalties from the sales to authors;[145] and
• Singapore: in July 2021, the government introduced a Bill intended to replace the current Copyright Act, expected to come into effect in November 2021. Changes include new provisions relating to use of resources from the internet by not-for-profit schools, ‘computational data analysis’, activities of cultural institutions, and governance arrangements for copyright management organisations.[146]

17.3       Submissions and representations in 2020–21

Engagement in policy and advocacy included:

• working with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, and with stakeholders, on the matters in the Minister’s August 2020 announcement;
• submission to the Parliamentary inquiry into Australia’s creative and cultural institutions;[147]
• submission to, and appearance before, the Parliamentary inquiry into the Aboriginal flag;
• submission to Office of the Arts on Growing the Indigenous Visual Arts Industry;[148]
• submission on the Productivity Commission’s draft report on the Right to Repair, re-iterating our strong opposition to a US-style fair use exception, and calling for any new exception to be very specific.

18        Stakeholder engagement

Copyright Agency’s stakeholders include content creators, content users (licensees) and the Australian government.

Content creator stakeholders include members of Copyright Agency, potential members, professional organisations for content creators (such as Australian Society of Authors, Australian Publishers Association, Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, National Association for the Visual Arts, and Australian Institute for Professional Photography), and international affiliates.

Content user stakeholders include people who use content under licences (e.g. teachers, government employees, businesses), professional associations for those users (such as teacher associations and unions), and people who negotiate licence fees and other arrangements for their sector (such as Copyright Advisory Group and Universities Australia).

Copyright Agency’s main stakeholder relationship with the Australian government is related to its appointments by the government to manage statutory schemes and the artists’ resale royalty scheme.

Copyright Agency also has a stakeholder relationship with the Australian government, and with State and Territory governments, in their capacity as licensees, and as owners of copyright.

Other important stakeholders include other copyright management organisations (such as Screenrights and APRA AMCOS), and industry associations for content creators (such as those for music and film).

18.1        Developments in 2020–21

• Joint sponsorship of Parliamentary Friends of Books and Writing group
• Meetings with various Departments and Ministers
• John Fries Award for visual artists
• Major sponsorship of Miles Franklin Literary Award
• Major sponsorship of the Reading Hour with the Publishers Association and Australian Library and Information Association
• Sponsorship of the Australian Book Industry Awards, Educational Publishing Awards Australia, Walkley Awards for Journalism
• Sponsorship of Walkley Arts Journalism prizes
• Sponsorship of Sydney Contemporary Art Fair
• Monthly eNews, Creative Licence, issued to members and other stakeholders
• Quarterly eNews, Canvas, issued to visual artist members and non-members
• Quarterly eNews, Licence Plus, issued to business licensees
• Promotion of Inclusive Publishing Guides
• Regular meetings and presentations to staff and boards of key industry organisations
• Engagement with stakeholders via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram
• Media coverage of Copyright Agency activities and issues
• Promotion of Cultural Fund grantees and Fellowships
• Promotion of Flex for Librarians to Private Education Provider
• Publication of opinion pieces in media on copyright issues
• Promotion of new Code of Conduct website to all members (in conjunction with other collecting societies)
• Literary agents and publishers briefed in Sydney and Melbourne

19        Governance and accountability

Copyright Agency is a signatory to the Code of Conduct for Copyright Collecting Societies.[149] Matters covered in the Code include governance and accountability, education and awareness, and complaints and disputes.

We report annually to the Code Reviewer on our compliance with the requirements of the Code, and the Code Reviewer’s report is published on our website.

In conjunction with the Government’s appointment of Copyright Agency to manage the statutory licence for education in 1990, the Attorney-General’s Department developed guidelines for collecting societies.[150]

Our Constitution (which reflects some of the requirements in the guidelines) is available from our website, as is our Corporate Governance Statement, Client Service Charter, Privacy Policy and profiles of board directors.

Our Complaints Procedure and Disputes Resolution Procedure are available on our website.

The Copyright Tribunal has powers to determine aspects of licensing arrangements, including compensation fees payable under statutory licences, and distribution arrangements.

19.1        Developments in 2020–21

• Code Reviewer’s report on collecting societies’ compliance with the Code of Conduct in 2019–20 published (available on Code of Conduct website)
• report to Code Reviewer on compliance with the Code of Conduct 2020–21 (available on Code of Conduct website)
• appointment of Triennial Code Reviewer

19.2       More information

• Code of Conduct website[151]
• Report by Bureau of Communications and the Arts from Review of Code of Conduct for Australian Collecting Societies[152]

[1] abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4221.0.

[2] https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/stats-publications/

[3] https://www.ncver.edu.au/research-and-statistics/publications/all-publications/government-funded-students-and-courses-2020

[4] Number of employees covered by Copyright Agency’s licensing agreements.

[5] https://www.copyright.com.au/2017/09/streem-enters-content-licensing-agreement-copyright-agency

[6] The Tribunal’s determination was delivered on 15 October 2021. See further Directors’ Report under ‘Likely Developments’.

[7] https://www.copyright.com.au/2021/05/copyright-agency-asks-copyright-tribunal-for-21st-century-data-collection

[8] The Tribunal has not yet released its determination.

[9] copyright.com.au/2018/11/media-release/

[10] https://www.copyrighttribunal.gov.au/decisions/judgments?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3Lmp1ZGdtZW50cy5mZWRjb3VydC5nb3YuYXUlMkZqdWRnbWVudHMlMkZKdWRnbWVudHMlMkZ0cmlidW5hbHMlMkZhY29weXQlMkYyMDE5JTJGMjAxOWFjb3B5dDAwMDImYWxsPTE%3D

[11] copyright.com.au/licences-permission/educational-licences/private-education-providers/search-australian-educational-copyright-licence/

[12] https://static-copyright-com-au.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/12/R02345-CA-surveys-in-schools-and-unis-Dec-2019.pdf

[13] copyright.com.au/about-us/governance/

[14] From statutory and voluntary licences, but not the artists’ resale royalty scheme or payments from Screenrights for artists.

[15] Principally Screenrights (broadcast content), APRA AMCOS (music compositions), and PPCA (recorded music).

[16] copyrighttribunal.gov.au

[17] https://www.copyright.com.au/about-us/

[18] Report to Consider what Alterations are Desirable in the Copyright Law of the Commonwealth (the Spicer Report) (1959): this report preceded the introduction of the current Copyright Act 1968.

[19] Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), available at jade.io/article/218245.

[20] Other forms of intellectual property include patents, trademarks and designs: see ipaustralia.gov.au/understanding-intellectual-property

[21] Creators have these rights in their work even if they do not own copyright.

[22] The primary copyright treaty, the Berne Convention, provides that parties are not required to have an artists’ resale right, but that if they do they must provide reciprocity to nationals of other countries that have the right. In Australia, the right is granted by the Resale Royalty Right for Visual Artists Act 2009 (Cth), overseen by the Minister for the Arts. One of the key arguments for the right is that it benefits ‘fine artists’ who receive fewer benefits from the copyright system than other creators (such as writers and composers) whose work is primarily created for copying and communication rather than the value of the ‘original’ version.

[23] copyright.com.au/duration

[24] For an overview of all the statutory licences, see Ricketson & Creswell, The Law of Intellectual Property: Copyright Designs & Confidential Information at [12.0]ff.

[25] Australia is party to a number of treaties, such as the Berne Convention administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Australia is also party to a number of bilateral and other agreements that affect copyright, such as the Australia–US Free Trade Agreement.

[26] Ricketson & Creswell, The Law of Intellectual Property: Copyright Designs & Confidential Information at [12.0].

[27] For example, the use of print music in schools is mostly done under the AMCOS print music licence rather than the statutory licence, because it allows the copying of entire works that are available for purchase (provided the school purchases the requisite number of originals), though the statutory licence remains available to schools for uses not covered by the AMCOS agreement.

[28] Copyright Agency was ‘declared’ by the Attorney General in 1990 as the collecting society for the statutory licence for education, and by the Copyright Tribunal in 1998 as the collecting society for government copies of ‘works’ and ‘published editions’.

[29] Report of the Copyright Law Committee on Reprographic Reproduction (AGPS, Canberra, 1976), known as the Franki Report.

[30] By the Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000 (Cth).

[31] The Guidelines and Constitution are available at copyright.com.au/governance.

[32] Report of the Committee Appointed by the Attorney-General of the Commonwealth to Consider what Alterations are Desirable in the Copyright Law of the Commonwealth (1959), known as the Spicer Report, at [404]

[33] The statutory licence in section 183 of the Act allows the Commonwealth, States and Territories to use any copyright material for the services of the Crown. The amendments empowered the Copyright Tribunal to appoint (‘declare’) collecting societies to manage ‘government copies’. Copyright Agency was declared as the collecting society in relation to ‘works’ (other than those embodied in films and sound recordings) and ‘published editions’ in 1998. Screenrights is the declared society for broadcast content. For uses that are not ‘government copies’ managed by a declared collecting society, the government must (unless it is contrary to the public interest) notify the copyright owner and either agree terms with the copyright owner, or have terms determined by the Copyright Tribunal. The legislation does not empower the Tribunal to declare a collecting society in relation to ‘communications’ made under the statutory licence, but Copyright Agency operates as agent for its members by accepting notification and negotiating terms.

[34] Some other countries have provision for ‘extended collective licensing’, which is similar to statutory licensing but allows a copyright owner to ‘opt out’. This form of licensing originated in Scandinavian countries, and has recently been introduced in the UK.

[35] copyright.org.au

[36] See also Directors’ Report under ‘Likely Developments’ and ‘Tribunal proceedings regarding universities’.

[37] In 2020–21, the amount accrued for universities revenue was revised, in order to recognise the inherent risks in litigation, necessitating a cumulative write-down on previous amounts accrued since the agreement with universities expired.  See Directors’ Report under ‘Tribunal proceedings regarding universities’.

[38] Revenue includes one-off ‘retrospective’ payments for past sales of survey plans.

[39] The Copyright Tribunal delivered a determination regarding licence fees for media monitoring companies on 15 October 2021. See further Directors’ Report under ‘Likely Developments’.

[40] LearningField ceased operation at the end of 2019.

[41] Investment income is taken into account in calculations for the deduction from licence fees for anticipated operating costs, effectively reducing the deductions.

[42] The statutory licence was first introduced in 1980 and has been amended numerous times, including in 2000 to cover digital content and communication, and in 2017 to simplify the legislative framework.

[43] There are also arrangements for use of music in schools and universities through the music collecting societies, APRA AMCOS and PPCA.

[44] CAG (Schools) reports to the Australian Education Senior Officials Committee, the National Catholic Education Commission and Independent Schools Australia. CAG is assisted by the National Copyright Unit (NCU), the specialist copyright team responsible for copyright policy and administration for Australian schools and TAFE, based in the NSW Department of Education.

[45] Since 2006, Victorian TAFEs have been represented by their own self-funded association, Victorian TAFE Association (VTA).

[46] There are 42 Australian Universities registered by TEQSA. UA represent 39 – the remaining three, Torrens University Australia, University of Divinity and Avondale University is individually licensed.

[47] Summary of licence scope at https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/educational-licences/copying-under-education-licence/

[48] Summary of licence scope at https://www.cla.co.uk/licencetocopy

[49] https://www.cla.co.uk/excluded-works

[50] CLA’s online search tool enables licensees to check which publications, including websites, are covered by their licences

[51] These are a significant proportion of copying done under the Australian education statutory licence, particularly in primary schools.

[52] https://www.cla.co.uk/nla-schools-licence

[53] Most schools are also covered by a licence from APRA AMCOS that allows copying of entire pieces of sheet music that the school has purchased: see https://www.apraamcos.com.au/music-licences/select-a-licence/educational-institutions

[54] https://www.cla.co.uk/schools-printed-music-licence. As of 2021, CLA is no longer an agent for PMLL.

[55] e.g. theses, dissertations, assignments, company reports, catalogues, brochures: the Australian education statutory licence allows the copying of all this material (i.e.  teacher does not have to worry about permissions requirements), but the nature of the material is taken into account when assessing the value (if any) for licensing fees.

[56] Regulation 73(2)(c): ‘the need to ensure adequate incentive for the production of educational works, educational sound recordings and educational cinematograph films in Australia.

[57] https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/educational-licences/online-teaching-in-lockdown/

[58] The Tribunal has not yet delivered its determination.

[59] https://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia-data-portal/school-funding/government-recurrent-expenditure-on-government-and-non-government-schools

[60] The surveys in schools were paused in March 2020 due to COVID-19, and have remained paused due to ongoing uncertainties. In accordance with their agreement for 2019–22, Copyright Agency and the Copyright Advisory Group to the Education Sector (CAG) began discussions about new data collection arrangements in 2019. Copyright Agency applied to the Copyright Tribunal for assistance with new data collection arrangements in May 2021.

[61] https://www.copyright.com.au/data-processing-protocols/

[62] ‘Blackline masters’ are workbooks sold with a licence to the purchaser to photocopy. Survey records do not indicate whether or not the recorded use was covered by the licence.

[63] Such as the TV guides at issue in the High Court decision in Ice TV.

[64] See ‘website copying notices’ at https://www.copyright.com.au/data-processing-protocols/

[65] We are happy to provide the statement to anyone interested.

[66] https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/educational-licences/schools/top-50-books-teachers-chose-to-copy/

[67] https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/tribunals/acopyt/2019/2019acopyt0002. See further external auditors’ report, annexed.

[68] https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/educational-licences/early-childhood-education-licence

[69] https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/educational-licences/

[70] https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/educational-licences/online-teaching-in-lockdown/

[71] https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/educational-licences/schools/top-50-books-teachers-chose-to-copy/

[72] https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/educational-licences/flex/

[73] The statutory licence is in Part VII Division 2 of the Copyright Act

[74] Screenrights is similarly declared for broadcast content.

[75] The legislation does not enable the Tribunal to ‘declare’ Copyright Agency for communication, only for ‘government copies’.

[76] Since 2018, FTEs have not been reported due to agreement on a lump sum payment. The licence fees are based on the 2017 FTEs, with provision for invoicing for additional FTEs.

[77] https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/government-licences/

[78] Links from https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/government-licences/

[79] https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/government-licences/sales-of-survey-plans-by-governments/

[80] rightsportal.copyright.com.au/

[81] copyright.com.au/excluded-works

[82] The Tribunal’s determination was delivered on 15 October 2021. See further Directors’ Report under ‘Likely Developments’.

[83] rightsportal.copyright.com.au/

[84] https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/commercial-licences/

[85] https://www.copyright.com.au/licences-permission/visual-art-licences/

[86] https://copyrightagency.imagegallery.me/

[87] Royalties are paid to successors in title after an artist’s death. The legislation allows for the scheme to be extended to artists and successors in title from other countries with similar schemes, by listing those countries in regulations. At the time of writing, no countries were listed.

[88] This includes some royalties due to artists that have not yet been collected by us, and some royalties paid direct to artists.

[89] Resales for $1,000 or more.

[90] All resales must be reported, and Copyright Agency determines which resales are subject to a royalty. A royalty is not payable if the artwork was acquired by the vendor before the commencement of the scheme. Other reasons for a royalty not being payable are: the artist is not an Australian national or resident, and (if the artist has died), there are no beneficiaries with the requisite connection to Australia.

[91] In some cases, artists elect to receive payment directly from the art market professional and in some cases artists decline payment for particular resales (e.g. charity auctions).

[92] https://www.resaleroyalty.org.au/

[93] https://www.arts.gov.au/funding-and-support/resale-royalty-scheme

[94] https://www.arts.gov.au/documents/post-implementation-review-resale-royalty-right-visual-artists-act-2009-and-resale-royalty-scheme

[95] copyright.com.au/distribution-policy

[96] Includes educational resources such as worksheets, activity sheets, practice tests and lesson plans.

[97] https://www.copyright.com.au/about-us/international-affiliates/

[98] We had regard to the Attorney-General’s Department’s guidelines for declared collecting societies (2001) in determining the approach to the distribution.

[99] https://www.copyright.com.au/membership/payments/distribution-policy/

[100] https://www.copyright.com.au/membership/administration-fees/

[101] https://www.copyright.com.au/membership/payments/distribution-schedule/

[102] https://www.copyright.com.au/membership/payments/unpaid-allocations/

[103] copyright.com.au/cultural-fund. The deduction does not apply to artists’ resale royalties or payments from Screenrights for artists.

[104]copyright.com.au/cultural-fund/projects-supported

[105] https://www.copyright.com.au/culturalfund/

[106] This includes amounts that will be deducted for operating costs.

[107] Clause 17.

[108] We initially allocated to a rightsholder who advised they were not entitled to the allocation, and we are in the process of identifying another rightsholder.

[109] We initially allocated to a rightsholder who advised they were not entitled to the allocation, and we have been unable to identify another rightsholder.

[110] This covers a range of scenarios such as: deregistered companies; estates and individuals where we have a name but cannot find any further information to enable contact; organisations that we have contacted but have not joined; and small allocations where the cost of identification and contact exceeds the allocated amount.

[111] Under our distribution policy, we make payments to members once allocations for that member aggregate to $10. The total of these small amounts in 2020–21 was about $2,600.

[112] In 2020–21, we invested $0.47m from reserves held by Viscopy when it merged with Copyright Agency into a new licensing platform for visual artists.

[113] https://static-copyright-com-au.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2015/04/R00561-Guidelines-for-declaring-Collecting-Societies-2001-1.pdf at Article 10.

[114] https://www.copyright.com.au/membership/administration-fees/

[115] We add some amounts rolled over to distribution pools. In 2020–21, we included unpaid allocations from foreign collecting societies in distributions for writers and artists.

[116] Access Copyright’s attempts to restore licensing revenue for its members via the Copyright Board and the courts have recently ended, after 10 years, with an adverse decision of the Supreme Court. Canadian writers and publishers now require legislative change to restore licensing arrangements.

[117] Costs associated with proceedings in the Copyright Tribunal were also met from unpaid allocations, totalling $1.1m: $1m for the proceedings relating to universities and $0.1m for the proceedings relating to schools.

[118] https://www.copyright.com.au/membership/payments/distribution-policy/

[119] https://www.copyright.com.au/membership/payments/unpaid-allocations/

[120] See further copyright.com.au/fees

[121] The total comprises $1.3m of unpaid allocations from 2012–15 totalling $3.96m that we were holding at 30 June 2019, that the Board determined should be applied to meet expenses over a three-year period ($1.3m a year), and $1.7m rolled over in 2019–20 from allocations in 2015–16.

[122] See further Part 13.8.

[123] Employees who earn over the high-income threshold are considered ‘high income employees’ under the Fair Work Act 2009. The threshold for 2021 is $153,600 (includes superannuation guarantee contributions but not incentive payments)

[124] includes superannuation but not incentive payments

[125] https://www.copyright.com.au/membership/administration-fees/

[126] https://www.copyright.com.au/about-us/our-people/

[127] Membership is open to owners of copyright and their agents.

[128] A member can be both an author and a publisher member. The class of membership determines voting entitlements for the two elected members of the board: the elected ‘author’ and the elected ‘publisher’ director.

[129] Includes: agents for artists, writers and publishers; beneficiaries of writers’ and artists’ estates; executors, administrators and trustees; surveying firms.

[130] https://www.copyright.com.au/membership/

[131] www.ifrro.org

[132] www.cisac.org

[133] In 2020 -21 Sarah Tran chaired the Asia Pacific Committee. Adam Suckling and Sarah Tran also participated in the Legal Issues Forum, and were members of the Newspapers and Periodicals Working Group and the Visual Arts Working Group. Sarah Tran and Judy Grady were members of the Executive Committee of CIAGP, CISAC’s visual arts arm

[134] www.pdln.info

[135] https://www.copyright.com.au/about-us/international-affiliates/

[136] https://www.ifrro.org/

[137] https://www.cisac.org/

[138] https://static-copyright-com-au.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2015/04/Copyright-Agency-Constitution-2017-.pdf

[139] https://www.paulfletcher.com.au/media-releases/media-release-copyright-reforms-to-better-support-the-digital-environment

[140] https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Communications/Arts

[141] https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Aboriginal_Flag/AboriginalFlag

[142] https://www.arts.gov.au/have-your-say/consultation-paper-growing-indigenous-visual-arts-industry

[143] https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/693.nsf/vwapj/ConsultationPaperAIEN.pdf/$file/ConsultationPaperAIEN.pdf

[144] see consultation paper at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uks-future-exhaustion-of-intellectual-property-rights-regime and opposition from UK publisher and author associations at https://publishingperspectives.com/2021/06/uk-book-publishing-industry-raises-copyright-alarm-save-our-books-covid19/.

[145] https://societyofauthors.org/News/News/2021/June/AuthorSHARE-launch

[146] https://www.ipos.gov.sg/docs/default-source/resources-library/copyright/copyright-bill-factsheet.pdf

[147] https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Communications/Arts/Submissions

[148] https://www.arts.gov.au/sites/default/files/submissions/givia_copyright-agency-limited.pdf

[149] The Code is available at copyright.com.au.

[150] There are links to the declaration and guidelines at copyright.com.au/governance

[151] https://www.copyrightcodeofconduct.org.au/

[152] https://www.communications.gov.au/documents/review-code-conduct-australian-copyright-collecting-societies