We had a guest speaker come in yesterday and talk to us about Copyright. I found it all very interesting, and I can tell I’m going to be caught up in it as I go through my degree. It’s all very confusing. First off, copyright is automatic, it is law – Commonwealth Law to be exact. In other words, as soon as you create content, you don’t need to add any ã for it to be copyrighted, nor are there any registration requirements in Australia. However, facts and ideas aren’t protected by copyright – so you can’t have an idea for say, I don’t know, a boy wizard with a lightning scar and expect that you will win a law suit against J.K. Rowling for writing the Harry Potter series (though I’ve seen a few idiots attempt it).

Ideas can only be protected if you mark with a statement like ‘the information in this folder is confidential and must not be used without first obtaining (name) written consent’.