Copyright and you – Julia Adams

Shiff & Company Lawyers & Consultants

Presenter Outline:

Julia Adams is a lawyer that works to protect people’s intellectual property and intellectual copyright in the border entertainment sector-which covers film media and games publishing. Julia speaks on the important topic ‘What is copyright?’ and people’s rights on what they can reproduce, publish or even perform of the work in public.

Journal Entry - week 4 - Bridh Athanatos 1365312

How does the topic relate to the Games Industry?

When someone produces an art work for example and it is formally published that person is not obligated to register that work. It’s important to note that enough evidence to prove that the work is yours will be needed in case a dispute arises however you do not need to register the fact. This is a protection put in place by the government which last for 70 years from the date of publication. The basis for this protection involves the expression of ideas and information, produced.

Avoiding infringements is how Julie simply puts the type of work she does, two points to be clear on when researching for a project should be considered.

• Substantial part – When a corner of a painting is used from another piece of art work to construct your own, how key to the development of your success is that piece. This is subject to speculation which can be resolved in court. How much independent work has made up the absolute project?

• An interesting scenario was born during question time, where if someone was to breach copyright and have to pay for compensation, the resulting art work that is produced is still covered under a new copyright of its own.

• Reasonable Proportion – An example of this would be the reproduction of a book being able to use 10% of material from its source. 1 chapter of a book may be used for research and study.

How does the topic relate to my own ambitions in the Games Industry?

Intellectual property and copyright is a very important point to know in protecting myself and my idea’s. Making sure to keep records of progress, who/where my work was displayed are important notes to make in a journal or diary.

In team work or any work that involves a third party creating a contract that assigns all the copyright to one party, is a good way to avoid trouble with differentiating ownership. This is especially important before publishing work. Making use of terms and conditions in a template form can cut costs and cover a range of generalised issues.

While working for an employer, meaning getting super and sick pay, care needs to be taken as they generally own any work produced during their time. However contracting and contractors need to defined in a contract or it will/could be owned by the creating contractor. While this doesn’t apply to me directly right now, knowing this information has blown away misconceptions of independence while working for an employer.

A question was raised regarding the modification of a contract before committing to the terms therein, “Can I cross out lines that I disagree with and then sign” Bridh Athanatos.

The response was concise, getting confirmation is important while removing/editing a contract as this avoids the conflict of non agreement.

Generally copyright is hard to win in court, as it can be difficult to prove the copy made and accurately estimating what the damage was. Often issues like these get resolved by a licence agreement to use the original work and they can begin receiving royalties.

There is no time limit as to when intellectual property or work can be infringed. However for more clearly defined protection a trade mark can be used which typically costs $180 per class which covers Australia with potential to require 2 classes every 10 years.

Bridh Athanatos