Whats the deal with bringing ripped music and videos into australia?

Question

I am moving to Australia in about a week, and my laptop has a lot of music and a few movies/videos. What's the law regarding bringing them into the country, and what do the Australian customs do if they find it?

Answer 1

Can I copy my record collection onto CD format?

In general terms, you would infringe copyright if you "change the format" of records or CDs. "Changing the format" involves making copies, and this requires the permission of the copyright owners unless all relevant copyrights have expired, or one of the exceptions to infringement applies. Generally the people who could grant permission would be the record company that released the recording.

Can I copy an entire CD if it is no longer for sale?

There is no general exception to infringement where the item is not commercially available. If you want to make a copy of a CD that is no longer available for purchase, you need permission from the copyright owner, unless all the copyrights have expired or a special exception applies to your use.

Can I make a compilation CD of my favourite songs from CDs I own for private use?

Copying individual songs from a CD involves a reproduction of the music, lyrics and sound recordings on that CD.

There is no special exception which allows copying of material from CDs or audio-cassettes for private use. In

most cases you will need permission from the owners of copyright in the music and lyrics (usually the music (publisher) and the owners of copyright in the sound recording (usually the record company). However, if you purchase digital files of music from the copyright owner or licensee (or download them from a website with the copyright owner's permission), you are entitled to copy the file as set out in the license (which

may include making compilations).

In some countries, individuals can copy for private use--why not in Australia?

In the early 1990s, the government introduced a "blank tape levy" scheme in Australia, under which private taping of recorded music would have been made legal, with copyright owners receiving compensation through a small additional charge on blank tapes. However, the High Court held that the way in which the government tried to implement the scheme was unconstitutional and struck out the proposed law. background image Australian Copyright Council Information Sheet G70 Music: copying MP3s, CDs and audio-cassettes

3 A levy for recordable media such as blank CDs and audio-cassettes has again been recently proposed in Australia,

however, at the time of writing the present government has not responded to the proposal. For further information, see www.screen.org/PressReleases/private_cop...

Can I make extra copies of my music CDs for use in my car stereo or at work?

You are not entitled to copy a CD without the copyright owner's permission unless all copyrights have expired, or

a special exception applies to your use. However, as noted above, if you get digital files of the recorded music from a legitimate source, you may be entitled to make extra copies: check the terms and conditions of the licence.

Can we make copies of CDs as back-ups in case the originals get lost or damaged?

The Copyright Act does not permit making back-up copies of recorded music on CDs or in any other formats. As noted above, ownership of the physical CD does not give you any right to use it in the ways reserved to the copyright owners.

Can I download MP3s from the Internet (such as using Kazaa)?

Generally, you need permission to reproduce a recorded song, even where the reproduction is done by downloading

or copying (or uploading) an MP3 file. Most websites offering free music downloads--especially those offering recent releases of well-known and popular artists--infringe copyright, and you would therefore infringe copyright by downloading recordings from those websites. In some situations, MP3 files are uploaded to websites with the permission of the copyright owners. For example, some bands and musicians make their recordings available on the Internet as a promotion strategy to get their music widely heard. In these situations, where the copyright owners have given permission for their recordings to be made available and downloaded from the Internet, you can download the recording without infringing copyright. However, you should check the terms and conditions of the permission ("licence") to download the recordings: there are usually limits on what users are entitled to do with the recordings. Record companies are increasingly making digital files of recorded music available for sale or for download from certain websites. For example, in Australia, you can currently purchase MP3 music files from BigPond Music and Destra Music (which operates in conjunction with many music retailers including Sanity and HMV). We understand

that there are also plans to introduce an Australian version of Apple's iTunes during 2004. If you use this type of service, you will need to check the licence conditions for downloading the songs to determine whether you can then burn the MP3 files onto a CD.

I own an MP3 player. Can I burn my CDs onto the MP3 player?

Generally, no. If you are not the owner of copyright you will need permission to copy a CD to your MP3 player, even if you own the CD you want to copy. Some recording companies sell MP3 files through Internet music stores. If you purchase songs from this type of website, you will need to check the licence conditions for downloading the songs to determine whether you are allowed to rip the MP3 files on to your MP3 player.

My CD does not play on my computer. What can I do?

If your CD is defective, you may be able to get a refund from the retailer or get assistance from the Department of Fair Trading in your State or Territory. However, if the problem is simply that the CD is "copy-protected", then the Department is unlikely to be able to assist. There is nothing under copyright law to prevent record companies from putting technological protection measures in place to ensure that consumers are only able to use CDs in the ways intended (listening to the recording being played on a CD player) and cannot use them in ways that might infringe copyright (such as by copying them). In fact, such measures are encouraged by provisions in the Copyright Act which protect "technological protection measures" such as copy protection devices. In some countries, purchasers have complained about the use of copy-protection measures on CDs preventing them from listening to the CDs on computers. As a result of such cases, some record companies place warning notices on CDs stating that they cannot be played on computers. background image Australian Copyright Council Information Sheet G70 Music: copying MP3s, CDs and audio-cassettes 4 We are not aware of any legal cases in Australia discussing the use of warning labels on copy-protected material. However, some consumers have complained to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) about the use of copy control technology. However, the ACCC has declined to take action, stating that, in its opinion, the record company had endeavoured to draw the performance characteristics of its products to the attention of consumers.

How much of a music CD can a student copy?

The Copyright Act allows students to copy or otherwise use copyright material for the purposes of their research and study, provided the use is "fair". For copyright purposes, we look at the copyright work (the words, music or recording of each song) rather than at a CD as a whole. In some circumstances, it may be a fair dealing for research or study to copy the whole of a track from a CD for the purpose of research or study. However, this exception would not generally allow a student to copy the whole of a CD for their research or study, if the CD is commercially available.

For further information about this exception, see our information sheet Research or study.

Is it legal to provide a CD burner in my shop or café for others to copy their CDs?

It is likely that most clients of this type of service will infringe copyright by making unauthorised reproductions of copyright material. If you make such a service available, you run the risk of being liable for "authorising" those infringements. In 2003, an Adelaide businessman abandoned a scheme to install CD burners in newsagents and music stores after he was sued by the record industry on the basis that his business would have authorised copyright infringement by customers. Note that both a person who infringes copyright and a person who authorises that infringement may be liable for the one infringement. For more information, see our information sheet Copying services.

Could I set up a business transferring record collections onto CDs?

It is likely that, in most cases, copying records onto CDs would infringe copyright. The fact that the client owns

the records in their collection does not mean they own copyright in the music, lyrics and sound recordings on

those records. Unless all copyrights had expired, you could be liable for infringing copyright by making the copies.

Your client could be liable for authorising the infringements.

In this situation, where the copying is being done for commercial purposes, you could also be liable for dealing

commercially with an infringing article (a criminal offence).

I am a DJ and want to re-record music from audio-cassettes to CD. Can I do this?

Unless you own copyright in the material you wish to copy, or the copyright has expired, you will need the copyright owner's permission to re-record music from audio-cassette to CD for the purposes of your DJ business. In 2003, several DJs were found to have infringed copyright when they remixed sound recordings, manufactured CDs of the remixed versions and offered them for sale, all without permission of the recording companies as exclusive licensee of the copyright material.

What happens if I infringe copyright?

Civil liability

If you use copyright material in any of the ways  

Answer 2

They probably wont look.

If they do, they might refer it to the AFP if they think you've got a **** load on there and there's any indication that your likely to burn these off to sell, or to ACCM if any are unclassified or unclassifiable like X rated etc.

A few tracks for listening to on the plane might be ignored if you just backed them up from CD's and DVD's that you purchased at home.