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By Brian J Tran  |  Associate Lawyer

 

Any chance you, your staff or business are unlawfully using someone else’s photos, drawings, or artwork by directly reproducing or copying, for instance, via online material such as google, or even eBay?

 

What about another person’s writing, for example, from websites, or even in the physical form from a competitor’s product labels, or product information, including product instructions?

 

Stop right there.  Without obtaining the original author’s prior written consent, or without buying the photos or paying for the right, you may be committing copyright infringement, which is unlawful under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).

 

The main focus for many businesses on this topic therefore would be to ensure their staff members are well informed and avoid using another’s works without the requisite permission, or simply pay for them.

 

A handy “plagiarism” rule-of-thumb I share with many of our clients is to avoid using four consecutive words sourced elsewhere, and also to have a Copyright Checklist in place.  Why risk it when you can be creative?

 

Copyright infringement can be a serious issue for you, your staff or business especially with claims in damages starting from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 

Brian J Tran presents legal updates and seminars to clients and businesses to help raise awareness about their legal obligations.  If you wish to arrange a time to discuss, please do not hesitate to contact Kingston Lawyers on (03) 9585 6455.