Media Release

Copyright, Digitisation and Cultural Institutions Conference

The explosion of digital technologies has markedly increased the accessibility of cultural heritage material, providing unprecedented access to data from Australia and around the world. A Copyright, Digitisation and Cultural Institutions Conference, to be held at the State Library of Victoria on 26 August, will look at the implications these technologies pose for cultural institutions in light of the complicated issue of copyright.

Presented by the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Media and Communications Law (CMCL) and Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia (IPRIA), this one-day conference will launch Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for Digitisation. The Guidelines have been written by Emily Hudson and Andrew Kenyon.

Mary Delahunty, Minister for the Arts, will deliver the conference opening address.

'It is very fitting that the State Library is hosting this important conference,' says Minister Delahunty. 'The Library is leading the way in exploring new models of service delivery in a digital world and many of the complex issues that will be addressed at the conference will inform the development of policy at the Library and cultural institutions around Australia. I congratulate the Library and the other conference supporters on assembling such an impressive group of experts to examine and discuss copyright and digitisation in this context.'

The conference brings together a number of experts in the area; speakers include Andrew Kenyon, CMCL; Emily Hudson, CMCL & IRIA; Terry Cutler, Australian Centre for the Moving Image; Andrew Remely, National Museum of Australia; Jane Anderson, Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies; Shane Carmody, State Library of Victoria; Donna Brett, Art Gallery of NSW; and Robyn Ayres, Arts Law Centre of Australia.

‘As the custodian of so much material, the Library, like other cultural institutions, is faced with many challenges in this area,’ says Anne-Marie Schwirtlich, CEO and State Librarian. ‘I believe that the Guidelines for Digitisation will assist us in our relationships with the public and with copyright creators.’

Under discussion will be the use of digital technologies and the potential to enhance access, preservation, research and education, and some of the obstacles that arise from the current
copyright laws. It will also provide an overview of the relevant law, including the impact of the US–Australia Free Trade Agreement, licensing, moral rights, copyright exceptions, fair dealing versus fair use and orphan works.

Digitisation and copyright are universal issues that affect all manner of organisations, from large cultural bodies to smaller regional institutions. This conference will bring together a diverse range of participants, including national and state cultural institutions, Government Departments,

commercial publishers, commercial law firms, University law schools, Victoria Police, the Australian Film Commission, National Film and Sound Archive, Australian Copyright Council, AAP, the National Native Title Tribunal, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, and SBS.

The Guidelines and conference are part of a two-year Australian Research Centre Linkage project being conducted by CMCL and IPRIA. The project was initiated and continues to be supported by Museum Australia, with support from six industry partners: the Australian War Memorial, Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Art Gallery of NSW, National Museum of Australia, the State Library of Victoria and Museum Victoria.