Last updated 12 February 2026

There is no need to register a work for copyright. Copyright protection is automatic once certain elements set out in the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) (Copyright Act) have been satisfied. Placing a copyright notice (©) on a work is not required for a work to be protected. However, its use is advisable as the symbol usually alerts potential users that the work is protected by copyright law. To attract copyright protection, a work must:

• be original
• be reduced into material form
• have some connection with Australia.

Originality

For copyright protection to apply, a work must be original (ss 32(1)–(2) Copyright Act). This means that the work has been produced with the author’s skill and labour, and it has not been copied. It does not mean that the work needs to have creative merit. The originality threshold in Australia is quite low—it only requires that that some skill, labour and effort was invested into the creation of the work. This low threshold was examined in the decision of IceTV Pty Limited v Nine Network Australia Pty Limited [2009] HCA 14  (IceTV) and Telstra Corporation Limited v Phone Directories Company Pty Ltd [2010] FCA 44 (Telstra).

In Telstra, the Federal Court of Australia held that copyright does not subsist in Yellow Pages and White Pages telephone directories. Justice Gordon followed the High Court of Australia’s decision in IceTV  and found that copyright could not subsist because the author of each of the directories had not been (and could not be) identified. In particular, the directories were created through a computer-automated system, which did not allow any independent intellectual contributions from human contributors. This decision is a significant departure from the Full Federal Court’s 2002 decision in Desktop Marketing Systems Pty Ltd v Telstra Corporation Ltd [2002] FCAFC 112 where it held that copyright subsisted in Telstra’s directories and that the copyright had been infringed. It also clearly indicates that the process started by IceTV of bringing Australian law on copyright protection of databases into line with the United States’ and the European Union’s position is continuing.

Material form

Copyright does not afford protection to ideas or information until they have been expressed in a tangible form. This is what is referred to as ‘material form’ (s 22 Copyright Act). This can include any form of storage (visible or invisible) from which the work can be reproduced. For example, traditional stories and songs are not protected by copyright unless they are recorded or written down.

Connecting factors

To attract copyright, the work must be connected to Australia. This occurs when a work is:

• made by an Australian citizen
• made by a resident of a country that is also a member of the relevant international copyright treaty (Berne Convention)
• published first in Australia.