Economic rights
Economic rights enable the copyright owner the right to make commercial gain from the exploitation of their work. Copyright owners generally have the right to authorise or prohibit any of the following things in relation to their works:
- copying the work
in any way. For example, photocopying, reproducing a printed page by handwriting, typing
or scanning into a computer, and taping live or recorded music are all forms of copying
- issuing copies of the work
to the public
- renting
or
lending
copies of the work to the public. However, some lending of copyright works falls within
the Public Lending Right scheme, and this lending does not infringe copyright
- performing, showing or playing
the work in public. Obvious examples are performing plays and music, playing sound recordings
and showing films or videos in public. Further examples are public delivery of lectures, speeches and
letting a broadcast be seen or heard in public also involves performance of music and other copyright
material contained in the broadcast
- broadcasting
the work or other communication to the public by electronic transmission. This includes
putting copyright material on the internet or using it in an on demand service where members of the
public choose the time that the work is sent to them
- making an adaptation of the work, such as by translating a literary or dramatic work, transcribing a musical work and converting a computer program into a different computer language or code.
Copyright is infringed when any of the above acts are done without permission, whether directly or indirectly and whether the whole or a substantial part of a work is used, unless what is done falls within the scope of exceptions to copyright permitting certain minor uses.
