Copyright information for all images and photos in my Photo Gallery.

Can I copy an image? Images in the Photo Gallery must not be reproduced for commercial purposes, communicated in any way to the public (such as through the reproduction of this material on the Internet) or gathered into a compilation for re-use without the express permission of the copyright owner.

The photographer who supplied the original image to the Photo Gallery retains the Australian and international copyright © not only for the original image(s), but also for any photo-art versions of it. Unauthorized distribution or use of this image(s) without permission is prohibited.

If you use an image from the Photo Gallery for commercial purposes, you should also be aware of your moral rights (see below).

Football Clubs and Associations are welcome to reproduce the images on their own websites or publications, but credit should be acknowledged to the photographer.

Personal Use: Digital high resolution copies of the original image are available for personal reproduction. The copyright owner may or may not charge for the supply of this digital image. 

If I need permission who do I ask? Copyright for each image displayed, is owned and managed by the photographer who supplied the original image to the Photo Gallery.

How much will it cost? Charges for reproduction services and copyright clearance will vary depending on the image and the proposed re-use. This will be determined by the copyright owner.

What happens if I don’t ask permission? Any uses over and above that which is explained above may be an infringement of copyright and the copyright owner will be able to take legal action against you.

What is copyright? Copyright law is complex and constantly evolving. The following information is for guidance only and is not to be taken as legal advice. If in doubt, always assume that a work is in copyright and seek proper legal advice before using it.

Copyright is a form of legal protection given to written material, music, films, paintings and photographs, among other things.

Copyright protection extends to material created in Australia and overseas. Copyright law is contained in the Copyright Act 1968 and in various court decisions. Copyright protection is automatic; creators do not have to register.

Owners of copyright have the right to control certain uses of their works. Thus permission is required from the copyright holder to:

1. reproduce their work in material form, such as in a book or newsletter;
2. communicate their work to the public by any technological means, such as on a web site; and
3. include their work in a film or television program.

There are more rights than are listed here, though these are the most important. Different types of copyright material have different rights.

Duration of copyright: The laws of copyright apply to works which are still within the period of copyright protection. For most types of published works including photographs, this period is the life of the creator plus 50 years. An exception to this is a photograph taken before 1 May 1969. Copyright in such a photograph lasts 50 years from when it was taken. This means that photographs taken before 1950 are out of copyright.

Material which is not published (that is, copies of it have not been made available to the public) remains in copyright for perpetuity.

Material which is out of copyright is said to be in the ‘public domain’ and may be used freely.

What are moral rights? Following the passage of the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2001, you should now also be aware of moral rights.

Moral rights are a type of copyright that are designed to protect the reputation of an artist. They are ‘non-economic’ rights as they do not directly confer a financial return. Unlike copyright, moral rights cannot be bought or sold or otherwise traded, Consequently, even though the photographer of a given image may have sold (or never owned) the copyright to a photograph, she or he is still considered by the law to be the author and thus still retain the moral rights.

There are basically two moral rights:

(1) The right of attribution (including the right against false attribution). This is the right of the author to be identified as the author of the photograph (as well as to object to false identifications). For example, if you print a photograph in a magazine, it is a good idea to print the photographers name next to the image.

(2) The right of integrity. The right of integrity is infringed if the work or film is subjected to derogatory treatment which is prejudicial to the author’s honour or reputation. Derogatory treatment has been defined to include: ‘material distortion, mutilation or material alteration of a work’. Moral rights have the same duration as ordinary copyright.

Note: Please note that the above information regarding copyright and moral rights relates to Australian law. If you are viewing images in another country you will need to check what copyright and moral rights laws apply in that country.