28 February 2020

Australian Libraries and Copyright Committee (ALCC) held a one day (7 hour) training program comprised of two workshops, Copyright Essentials and Copyright Extended, at the State Library of Qld. These were presented by ALCC Copyright Officer Elliott Bledsoe. The Copyright Essentials program provided an understanding of the foundations of copyright legislation in Australia, including international influences, the rights afforded to creators and how long works are protected. The Copyright Extended program involved a panel discussion with guest speakers Dr Mark Ryan and Sue Wright who discussed blockchain technology and how it can be used in the book publishing industry to improve audience engagement, protect creator rights, and manage royalties.

I attended these workshops because working in an audiovisual archive within a media organisation it was important that I have a good understanding of the Copyright Act, who is a creator and their legal rights and the provisions under which copyrighted material may be used within news coverage.

This training has improved my knowledge of copyright legislation and in particular the Fair Dealing provision within the Act. Prior to the training my knowledge about copyright was limited to the fair use exceptions I have used to copy materials for study and a basic understanding of fair dealing that I had used within the workplace. I now have a greater understanding of copyrighted works and what fair dealing entails and feel more confident in my ability to advise clients on this issue as it pertains to their work. It has also introduced me to aspects which I was unfamiliar with, such as Section 200AB, preservation copyright, document supply and orphan works, which will be useful in my current studies and for future employment within different information organisations.

I also gained knowledge of a developing technology, blockchain, whose implementation within the publishing industry could extend to information organisations and could impact on my future career as an information professional. Additionally, I can also see the impacts it could have on my current workplace whereby media companies could use it to track their footage and how it used by other media organisations.

Copyright is an ever-present aspect of work in libraries. Library and information professionals need to be aware of the essentials of copyright so they are able to meet their clients’ information needs without potential infringement on the rights of creators. Copyright legislation can be complex and at times difficult to understand, which is why training by industry bodies such as the ALCC is beneficial for all library practitioners. Through participating in this training I have a greater understanding of how this legislation can affect information organisations, and feel better able to use this knowledge in my daily work.