Digital Essentials: Fair dealing

Note: There is no "transformational" exemption under Australia's Fair Dealing provisions, unlike the United State's Fair Use laws. Thus, remixes and memes are, strictly speaking, infringement under Australian law (if permission has not been granted by Copyright owners.)

What is a "reasonable portion"?

There are two general ways to work out what is "reasonable" under Fair Dealing, though these are not definitive. Firstly, a set amount for Copyright material that can easily be calculated (e.g. text based material):

• 10% of the number of pages (if it’s text or sheet music and is more than 10 pages long)
• One chapter (if it’s divided into chapters) either printed or electronic
• An article from a newspaper, magazine or journal (or two articles if it is from a special issue on the same theme)
• 10% of the number of words in an electronic work (e.g. from the Internet)

Secondly, a judgment call on what is being copied (photos, images, film, etc.) and what it is being used for (how much, what type of material is it):

• Small amount of music to illustrate a technique, an image to demonstrate a skill, diagram to show where parts go together
• A whole image or diagram, 30 seconds of a piece of music, a minute of a film
• Whether the material is available for purchase?
• Will using the material affect sales of the original copyright material?
• How much are you copying, and how important or distinctive is the piece?

Fair Dealing obligations

There are obligations you need to adhere to when using copyright material under fair dealing, you must:

• Attribute the material (this is in addition to Referencing, see the page on Referencing & Copyright on the Guide menu, paying particular attention to the Captions section.)

This can be done in a number of ways:

• A citation list or bibliography
• A credits list at the end of a video
• Verbal thanks at the end of a recital or music program
• A reference slide at the end of a PowerPoint presentation
• Clickable link under the image