Copyright Agency goes to tribunal over new schools deal

The Copyright Agency has asked the Copyright Tribunal of Australia to help design a new way to collect data on the copying and sharing of content at schools.

The Copyright Agency is seeking ‘a method to collect sufficient data to enable fair payments to be made to Australian publishers, authors and artists whose content is extensively copied and shared in Australian schools, while causing minimal administrative impact on teachers’. It believes that new digital technology makes a more efficient and accurate method possible.

In 2019 the Copyright Agency and school sector representatives agreed to work together on a new data collection system. Under the agreement, either party could ask the tribunal to assist with new arrangements if a new method had not been agreed upon by September 2020.

Copyright Agency CEO Adam Suckling said that educational material made by Copyright Agency members is ‘fundamental to teaching Australian school students’.

‘Copyright payments are one of the most effective ways to ensure students have access to high-quality Australian educational content,’ Suckling said. ‘Without fair payment for their work, it may not be viable for many Australian publishers, authors and artists to produce content that reflects Australian stories, life and perspectives.’

The copying and sharing of content are done under the Statutory Education License, which the Copyright Agency administers under a federal government declaration.

Category: Local news